Jobs at risk at five Lincolnshire stores as Maplin and Toys R Us go into administration

Jobs at four Lincolnshire Maplin Stores and one Toys R Us shop are at risk after both companies went into administration on Wednesday.

Maplin has stores in Lincoln, Grimsby, Boston and Scunthorpe while Toys R Us has a shop in Lincoln St Marks.

The High Street retail chains have been badly affected in recent years by lower consumer spending, higher inflation and competition from online rivals.

All 105 Toys R Us stores will remain open while administrators seek to wind-down the country’s biggest toy retailer after it failed to find a buyer.

At the same time, Maplin is maintaining its 217 stores open as administrators seek a new buyer for the troubled electronics retailer.

Toys R Us has been struggling since September 2017 when its US owner filed for bankruptcy protection and managed to avoid administration.

But the UK arm of the firm has been facing a £15 million tax bill and poor sales meant it was difficult to make the payment.

Toys R Us has made a loss in the last seven out of the last eight financial years and the US business had billions of dollars of debt.

Meanwhile, Maplin was affected by the slump in the pound after the Brexit vote and weak consumer confidence.

Administrators PwC said Maplin will deliver outstanding customer orders and gift cards will still be accepted in stores for now.