British Home Stores (BHS), a prominent high street retailer has filed for administration, which puts 164 shops and thousands of jobs at risk.

Administrators of the company Duff & Phelps are looking for a buyer to take on all or part of the business, reports the BBC.

BHS is 88 years old this year and it will continue to trade until another company amalgamates with it.

Philip Duffy and Benjamin Wiles, administrators from Duff & Phelps, said that there was "no alternative but to put the group into administration".

The potential collapse of this high-street chain echoes the previous fall of Woolworths, which ceased trading seven years ago.

Mr Duffy and Mr Wiles added: "The group has been undergoing restructuring and, as has been widely reported, the shareholders have been in negotiations to find a buyer for the business."

Unfortunately, so far the company has been unsuccessful in these dealings, but Duffy & Phelps is hopeful that this will change for the better.