Godfreys will be closed down after its administrators failed to seal a favourable acquisition proposal for the collapsed vacuum retailer.

PWC received 55 expressions of interest and six indicative offers during the sale process. However, some of the interested parties withdrew while the others did not provide a sufficient offer to secure the business in the long term.

As a result, all remaining Godfreys stores in Australia and New Zealand will be shuttered by May 31. In January, the administrators decided to close 54 stores and axe 193 jobs. Today the company advised 25 head office staff have been made redundant.

Furthermore, the owners of franchised stores have been told that Godfreys can no longer support them from today. They are permitted to continue trading until March 31 to realise the value of existing stock or have the alternative option of returning stock sold to them during the administration period to receive a credit on amounts owed to Godfreys.

“This is not the outcome Godfreys had hoped for following a rigorous process to find a purchaser for the business that could keep the store network trading,” administrator and PWC Australia partner Craig Crosbie.

“In the absence of any further bidders coming forward as intermittent trading continues, the process of closing all remaining stores will progress over the next eight weeks.”