Supermarket chain Kwik Save went into administration on Friday, with the loss of 1,100 jobs and the closure of 90 Stores.

Administrator KPMG agreed a rescue package at 9 pm on Friday night, and has sold 56 stores to Irish retail entrepreneur and Howard Holdings director Brendan Murtagh for £18m.

The stores will trade under the new name FreshXpress. Staff at these stores will be paid in arrears tomorrow.

In May, the Kwik Save announced the closure of 81 of its 273 stores. Several attempts to keep the stores trading have failed.

It is thought that Somerfield, which owns Kwik Save, is exposed to up to £10m in lease liabilities from the closures.

King Sturge has been appointed to sell 196 Kwik Save stores, ranging in size from 4,000 sq ft to 40,000sq ft. The rents range from £3,000 to £30,000 a year.

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