SHOPWORKERS in Huddersfield are among thousands of employees under threat after a rescue deal was rejected.

Parent company Stylo said it was “disappointed” to report that talks with creditors and administrators aimed at saving its PriceLess and Barratts shoe shop chains had failed.

It means Bradford-based Stylo will be placed into administration – putting the jobs of 5,400 employees at risk.

They include 34 staff working in Huddersfield, where Stylo has a branch of PriceLess at New Street and Barratts in the Kingsgate Centre as well as concessions in Dorothy Perkins and Bay Trading.

PriceLess and Barratt fell into administration on January 26.

Stylo had hoped creditors of PriceLess and Barratts would agree to rescue the business from administration and place it in a company voluntary arrangement.

Such a deal would have given the company breathing space in its debt repayments.

But Daniel Butters, Deloitte partner and joint administrator, confirmed that creditors and landlords had rejected the CVA proposals.

He said: “As a consequence, we will now seek to achieve a sale as a going concern to preserve as many jobs as possible. We are in focused talks with interested parties in an effort to deliver a swift solution.”

Stylo operates 400 high street shoe stores in the UK under the Barratts and PriceLess brands.

The chains employ almost 400 people across Yorkshire.

In a statement, Stylo said: “The board is disappointed to report that the creditors and landlords did not approve the CVA proposals.”

It added Deloitte would be appointed to the firm “as soon as possible.”

A spokesman for Stylo said: “There is no guarantee what is going to happen now.

“With the companies in administration they are going to have to get whatever value they can.”

Stylo was founded in 1935.

Stylo is the latest retailing name to collapse in the face of tough trading conditions.

It joins major names including Woolworths, Zavvi and Adams.

Insolvency experts at Begbies Traynor this week warned that another 11 retail businesses were at risk of disappearing from the high street over the next three months.

They said otherwise sound businesses were at risk due to the economic downturn and banks taking a tougher stance on lending.