She said: “I worked behind the scenes really hard all last year on a deal and literally three weeks before it was meant to happen, the guy pulled out, which left me with very few options and fewer resources.

“But, since the announcements been made more public, other people have come out of the woodwork.

“So, I am still negotiating with interested parties behind the scenes and I’ve got everything crossed that maybe seven of my shops would reopen shortly.”

Ms Oddie added: “We found three of our town centres just didn’t bounce back after Covid, so we struggled in Blackburn, Accrington and Nelson, and they were three high-volume shops for us, and then we went straight into an energy crisis.”

Ms Oddie said a third of the staff had worked for the bakery for more than 20 years “so we are like a family”.

“It’s very sad and it’s been heartbreaking for all of us,” she said.

The firm previously said the Covid-19 pandemic and “economic slowdown” had had “a profound impact on the business’ ability to operate at levels we were accustomed to”.