DESIGNER Rooms, the collapsed fashion venture from former Hampshire entrepreneur Jeremy Whaley, is to be liquidated with debts of £1m.

Whaley was the man behind the ill-fated Pilot fashion chain, which grew from a single shop in Winchester to a £55m-turnover national firm with 70 stores, before collapsing under debts of £9m in 2005.

Now, almost five years on, his Designer Room venture, which employed 160 people in ten stores across the country, including Whiteley Village, has gone the same way.

Staff face an anxious wait to discover if they will get paid from a special Government fund.

Peter Whalley, of Southampton accountants James Cowper, has been appointed to liquidate the various companies that made up the Designer Rooms retail chain.

He said: “James Cowper was first approached in December when the management were trying to find a buyer for Designer Rooms.

“After extensive negotiations over terms, a prospective purchaser willing to take on a number of the outlets withdrew, forcing the store closures.

“Problems procuring quality stock lines, reduced consumer demand and adverse weather conditions all proved too much in the end.

“Unfortunately Designer Rooms’ problems were just too intractable to resolve.”

Peter, assisted by fellow partner Sandra Mundy and manager Richard Warwick, has visited all stores to consult with staff about impending redundancies, secure store takings, and remove clothing stocks.

He said: “It is a difficult time for the Designer Rooms employees, but I expect that, in time, all shop floor staff will be able to receive all wages, holiday pay and redundancy to which they are entitled from the Redundancy Fund compensation scheme operated by the Department for Business Innovation & Skills.”