In a meeting with administrators on Wednesday the GMB union said they were informed there is no longer any prospect that the majority of the business will be saved.

It means redundancies for staff in store and at call centres will begin during the coming week.

The discount homeware and household goods chain employs around 12,500 staff across 400 shops.

Stores had been trading as normal and staff continued to be paid as administrators PwC were brought in.

Some stores may be bought, either individually or as part of larger packages of the business, but significant job losses are now expected.

A full purchase of the business had been said to be unlikely but there had been "hope", GMB said, over "expressions of interest" in part of the business.

A deadline of Wednesday last week had been set to put forward offers for the company after its collapse into insolvency the week before.

Andy Prendergast, GMB National Secretary, said: "GMB Union will continue to support members through this process and will fight to ensure members are consulted as per the law and that you receive every penny you are entitled to.

"We will fight to ensure Wilko bosses are held accountable for the simple reason our members deserve so much better.

"GMB will not forget the incompetence that has led to this collapse and will we not forget the dividends paid to the millionaires who gambled your jobs on their whims."