£15m tax bill could sink Toys R Us

BRITAIN’S biggest toy shop chain could collapse next week after being hit with a £15m tax bill.

Struggling Toys R Us has just ten days to pay off the massive VAT bill – and is unlikely to stump up the funds unless a white knight investor rides to the rescue.

Rival chain The Entertainer and retail turnaround firm Alteri Investors have reportedly expressed interest in parts of the business but it is not known how advanced talks are.

Toys R Us won a temporary reprieve just before Christmas when it announced plans to axe 26 loss-making shops and sack up to 800 staff to appease creditors.

But poor Christmas trading means the situation has not improved, and one source close to the business said it looks ‘close to unsaveable’.

Founded in 1957, the company’s 3,200 UK jobs will be at risk if it falls into administration.

The toy seller’s pension scheme – which has a £30m black hole – will likely pass into the hands of the Pension Protection Fund lifeboat meaning cuts to staff’s retirement benefits.

Toys R Us declined to comment.