All 45 Borders and Books Etc stores will close down before Christmas.

MCR, administrators for Borders bookstores, has announced that all branches of the retail chain will close during this week.

Borders bookstores went into administration in late November but stores had remained open as MCR tried to find a buyer.

All 45 stores will formally cease trading tomorrow (22 December) and the last day of employment for staff members would be Christmas Eve. Borders’ 1,150 employees have been assured that they will be paid for their work during the administration period.

The Borders book chain, which includes Books Etc, has struggled in recent months due to increased pressure from internet competition and supermarkets as well as deteriorating conditions in the retail market.

MCR has said that it is in “advanced stages of negotiations with a number of parties” regarding the sale of the retailer’s stores and assets but a deal has yet to be finalised.

The administrators are advising customers with gift cards to redeem them to fund up to 50% of a transaction before the stores close or fill out a proof of debt form and submit their claim, which will be considered as an unsecured claim against Borders.

Borders stores first opened in Britain in 1997 and were originally owned by the US company of the same name, but the chain was sold in 2007 to Risk Capital Partners. It is currently owned by private equity firm Valco.

The news of the store closures will not come as a surprise to its 1,150 employees, but the prospect of being jobless at Christmas will surely be devastating to many.

The UK retail sector has been hit hard by the economic downturn, and with online stores offering extremely competitive prices, Borders is unlikely to be the last high street victim of the credit crunch.