INDEPENDENT fashion retailer Coggles has gone into administration.

About 30 of its 60 staff have been made redundant as administrators Begbies Traynor were appointed to the York business after investment talks broke down.

Andy Clay of Begbies Traynor in York, who has been appointed joint administrator with David Acland, said two of the York stores and the website would trade as usual while they sought a buyer for the business.

Mr Clay said: "We are currently reviewing the business and making every effort to secure a return for the creditors and a future for the business and its staff.

"With its strong brand name and excellent reputation, we are optimistic that a buyer will be found and that Coggles will continue in some form."

The business received £3 million investment in 2011 from Manchester Square Enterprises, part of Pentland Group plc, after which it grew by 105 per cent.

Mark Bage, chief executive and creative director, said in a statement to fashion website Drapers that the business was growing at a significant rate and had a predicted turnover for 2013 of £8.1 million with more than 8.3 million visits per year. Its customer base exceeds 125,000, 40 per cent of which is international.

It had been trying to secure a second round of £4 million investment to enable it to open new sales channels, increase its global marketing budget and build brand awareness.

But poor performance pre-Christmas meant it was required sooner than they had anticipated, Mr Bage said.

He said the continuing weak economic climate has made trading the most difficult the business has experienced since it was founded in Low Petergate, York in 1974 as Sarah Coggles.

Whilst like for like sales continued to increase significantly in the last 12 months, Mr Bage said its targets had not been met, causing increased losses and a tighter cash flow than expected.

He said: "Hopefully, Begbies Traynor will be able to find a way for the business to continue to trade through a restructure or sale.

"The last two quarters have been the toughest I've seen in the industry. This is the third recession that I have been through but this recession has hit our sector the hardest, which has effectively been a triple dip recession.

"We will obviously be helping our current staff as much as possible over the next few weeks."

Ana Santi, deputy editor of Drapers, which has often recognised Coggles in its awards, said: "It's sad news for the independent fashion sector. Coggles was an innovator in its field, uncovering new brands and designers, and setting high standards of retailing for its peers. But it's also a tough sector and the economic conditions perhaps weren't favourable to Coggles' expansion plans."