Haldanes Stores has confirmed it is calling in administrators following advice from its lawyers and an insolvency practitioner.
The move comes just weeks after it issued proceedings in the High Court against The Co-operative Group, and does not affect fledging discounter chain Ugo or forecourt offering Haldanes Express.
Haldanes, which bought 26 stores in 2009-10 from The Co-op, alleged that the society "materially breached key terms of the agreements" when it acquired the former Somerfields.
"We firmly believed the Co-op would at least sit down with us and hear what we had to say, but they have chosen to either ignore or refuse all of our requests to meet.
"This has left us with nowhere else to go."
The administration will affect Haldanes Stores Ltd and holding company Ruston Retail Ltd, but not Haldanes Retail Group Ltd, Ugo Stores Ltd, Haldanes Express Ltd or Bakery Products Ltd.
Harris had previously admitted the 23 Haldanes branded stores were struggling and said he had invested £2m through another of his companies to ensure the business could continue.
A spokesman for The Co-operative Group, which is owed substantial rent arrears, said it had acted in good faith throughout its dealings with Haldanes and would vigorously contest any legal action.
"Most recently, we carefully considered a proposal from Haldanes that we provide further financial support to help them through their current difficulties," he said. "We regrettably decided, however, that given what appeared to be the levels of the issues facing Haldanes, we could not proceed."
The move comes just weeks after it issued proceedings in the High Court against The Co-operative Group, and does not affect fledging discounter chain Ugo or forecourt offering Haldanes Express.
Haldanes, which bought 26 stores in 2009-10 from The Co-op, alleged that the society "materially breached key terms of the agreements" when it acquired the former Somerfields.
The company is today making final preparations to obtain an administration order.
"I am absolutely distraught it has come to this," said CEO Arthur Harris."We firmly believed the Co-op would at least sit down with us and hear what we had to say, but they have chosen to either ignore or refuse all of our requests to meet.
"This has left us with nowhere else to go."
The administration will affect Haldanes Stores Ltd and holding company Ruston Retail Ltd, but not Haldanes Retail Group Ltd, Ugo Stores Ltd, Haldanes Express Ltd or Bakery Products Ltd.
Harris had previously admitted the 23 Haldanes branded stores were struggling and said he had invested £2m through another of his companies to ensure the business could continue.
A spokesman for The Co-operative Group, which is owed substantial rent arrears, said it had acted in good faith throughout its dealings with Haldanes and would vigorously contest any legal action.
"Most recently, we carefully considered a proposal from Haldanes that we provide further financial support to help them through their current difficulties," he said. "We regrettably decided, however, that given what appeared to be the levels of the issues facing Haldanes, we could not proceed."
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