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Deloitte has confirmed that the retailer is set to close its doors for the last time tomorrow as thousands of jobs are to be lost just one week before Christmas.
The administrator announced that the remaining 50 Comet stores will cease business from tomorrow after a potential buyer could not be found.
Whilst preliminary store closures throughout the past month have left half of Comet’s 6,600 staff jobless, these final closures will result in an additional 3,000 employees seeking employment in the run up to Christmas.
A potential takeover of the business has been labelled as "more unlikely than likely" as Deloitte seeks to raise cash for creditors by selling off the Comet brand and its online operations.
However, the administrator’s report indicates it has raised insufficient funds to cover the £24 million owed to axed workers in redundancy payments.
Whilst a statement is scheduled for release later today, it is believed the Government will need to step in to ensure workers receive payment – a scenario that will potentially leave taxpayers footing the £50 million bill.
Struggling in the wake of an online takeover as customers increasingly turned to the web and etailers for their products, Deloitte’s statement of proposals highlights Comet’s downfall as it fell apart with close to £200m in losses.
Initially founded in 1933, Comet was bought for just £2 in February by private equity firm OpCapita.
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