US-based chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 30 and its restructuring plan will see the closure of outlets in Liverpool, London and Birmingham. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool’s Forever 21 clothing store has taken another step towards closure after administrators announced a £30m stock clearance sale in its three UK stores.

Administrator from RSM said on Thursday that the chain’s three outlets in Liverpool, London and Birmingham would immediately begin a £30m stock clearance ahead of the closure. It is not clear how long the store will remain open.

On September 20 Forever 21, which operates hundred of stores worldwide, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a device which offers troubled US companies protection while they implement a turnaround strategy. It is likely many of the outlets outside of the US will close.

The Liverpool store, which occupies 46,000 sq ft over several floors on the corner of Church Street and Whitechapel has ‘closing down everything must go’ signs in it windows. The outlet closed briefly at the end of September but opened again at the beginning of October.

Damian Webb and Allan Kelly of RSM Restructuring Advisory were appointed as joint administrators of Forever 21 UK Ltd on September 30. Mr Webb said on Thursday: “The decision by Forever 21 to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US has regrettably led to the UK company being placed into administration.

“Despite the parent company’s financial difficulties across its worldwide estate, the Forever 21 brand has remained very popular with shoppers, and we are anticipating huge interest in this closing down sale. Visitors to Forever 21’s UK stores in London, Liverpool and Birmingham can expect to see some very attractive prices from the outset.”

It is not known how many people are employed in the Liverpool store but when it was opened in 2011 in a £25m project the company said it was creating around 200 jobs.