Fashion and furniture giant Laura Ashley has announced it is entering administration.

The company said the coronavirus outbreak has had an "immediate and significant" impact on trading.

Laura Ashley announced on Tuesday that its investors were unable to step in with additional funds to keep the iconic Mid Wales business stay afloat, which had been struggling for some time.

The company had seen a big increase in sales in the early part of the new year but still needed to raise £15 million to support trading and its turnaround plans.

Now becuase of the effect of coronavirus on its cash flow and "increase uncertainty" facing the group it now doesn't expect to raise the money that it needs. 

In a statement, the company said: "The directors of the company, its key trading subsidiary (Laura Ashley Limited), Premier Home Logistics Limited, Laura Ashley Investments Limited, and Texplan Manufacturing Limited, have concluded that all available alternative options have been explored and therefore, in order to protect creditors, it is necessary to file a notice of intention to appoint administrators in respect of the company and each of the named subsidiaries.  

"Accordingly, the company regrets to announce that the directors of the company, and of the named subsidiaries, have today filed notices of intention to appoint Robert Lewis and Zelf Hussain as administrators. If administrators are appointed in respect of the company, given the group's creditor position, the company is not certain whether there would be any surplus assets available to shareholders of the company."

The homeware and women's fashion brand has stores in Newtown, Shrewsbury and Hereford.

The company was founded in Newtown and had a factory in Carno, which it sold to a leather making firm in 2015. It still has its Newtown factory.

The company has suspended trading on the stock market.