Retail giants Maplin and ToysRUs are engaged in eleventh-hour talks to raise emergency cash as they desperate struggle to stay afloat.
Both firms have been running losses for some time, and will fall into insolvency within days if a buyer does not come forth.
Maplin, which has been trading since 1972, is one of the UK’s largest electronics retailers, with over 200 stores across the UK and Ireland.
A deal to keep ToysRUs from bankruptcy fell through some weeks ago, putting over 3,000 jobs on the line. The toy retailer has posted losses for seven of the last eight years that it has been trading.