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[Brett-Butler]

Did not see this one coming -

Retailer Phones 4U is to fall into administration putting 5,596 jobs at risk.

The chain, which is owned by private equity firm BC Partners, said its 550 stores would all be closed on Monday.

Phones 4U blamed mobile network EE's decision not to renew its contract - which came after Vodafone made a similar decision - for the move.

"If mobile network operators decline to supply us, we do not have a business," said Phones 4U boss David Kassler.

A spokesperson for EE said the decision not to renew its contract with Phones 4U was "driven by developments in the marketplace that have called into question the long term viability of the Phones 4U business".

The spokesperson said the decision was also "in line with our strategy to focus on growth in our direct channels".
'Sad day'

Mr Kassler, chief executive of Phones 4U, said it was a "very sad day" for both customers and staff.

"A good company making profits of over £100m, employing thousands of decent people has been forced into administration," he added.

The firm said EE and Vodafone's decisions not to renew their contracts had come as "a complete shock".

Phones 4U said it had only received EE's decision late on Friday, and as a result all its employees would report to work as normal on Monday.

It said they would then be briefed by management across all store locations as well as at head office.

It added that all staff would "continue to be paid until further notice".

The firm also said all mobile contracts previously bought at Phones 4U would remain unaffected.

It said PwC, which is expected to be appointed as administrator on Monday, would decide on whether the business could be reopened for trading.

Hard to believe a company can go into administration only 3 days after losing a contract, especially a company that seemed to be doing well (with high-profile ads going out over the weekend during the X Factor). My thoughts are with the 6000 people who won't know if they'll have a job or not by the end of the day. The next few days isn't going to be pretty.