THE convenience store chain McColl’s – which has more than a dozen shops locally – is to go into administration, putting 16,000 jobs at risk.

It held talks with lenders on Friday in the hope they could extend loan agreements.

Supermarket giant Morrisons, which is a major wholesale partner, also tabled a last-ditch effort to but the business.

But the company said “the lenders made clear that they were not satisfied that such discussions would reach an outcome acceptable to them”.

It said the company would appoint administrators from PwC in an effort to “preserve the future of the business and to protect the interests of employees”.

McColl's, which has 1,100 stores, said it hopes that the administrators will help to “implement a sale of the business to a third-party purchaser as soon as possible”.

It is understood Morrisons is still interested in a takeover, while Sky News has reported that forecourt giant EG Group is interested in a deal.

There are branches at High Howe, two at Canford Heath, Poole’s Dolphin Centre Tricketts Cross, West Moors, Wimborne, Swanage, Ringwood and three in New Milton.

Earlier on Friday, Morrisons tabled a rescue deal which would also take on the business as a going concern, absorb its debts of more than £100million and take responsibility for the company’s pension scheme.

The two businesses are major partners, with McColl’s operating hundreds of convenience shops under the Morrisons Daily brand.

McColl’s has struggled financially in recent years amid soaring costs owing to supply chain disruption, inflation and its large debt burden.