A few weeks ago it was a “might happen” and now it looks certain with a report that all Ted Baker shops in the UK will shut for good by midweek.

That comes as Sky News also suggested that the expected retail licensing deal with Frasers Group is unlikely to happen, even though it had seemed like a dead cert just a few months ago.

The administrators at Teneo who have been overseeing the business formerly run by Ted Baker’s partner No Ordinary Designer Label (which collapsed earlier this year) will be responsible for the closure of the remaining 31 stores.

The report also said that Tuesday will be the last day of trading.

So what went wrong with the Frasers deal? That’s not clear. Ted Baker brand owner Authentic Brands Group said that there are no ongoing talks with the company but didn’t share any further details of why the talks faltered, and Frasers didn’t comment either.

It’s also unclear what will happen now and whether Ted Baker might stage a comeback on the high street under a new licensing partner. Next had appeared to be interested at an early stage and there was also interest coming from the US.

But for now, around 500 jobs are at risk to add to the 245 jobs that went earlier when 15 shops were shut earlier this year.