THREE Office Outlet stores in Essex are among those to have been spared from closure by administrators.

The former Staples stationary chain has stores in Basildon, Chelmsford and at Tollgate, Stanway.

Last month it entered administration which put 1,200 jobs across 90 stores at risk.

Yesterday administrators Deloitte said 16 stores would close over the next week, resulting in 161 redundancies.

Richard Hawes, joint administrator, said: “While we are still open to a sale of the business in part or in whole, we cannot continue trading all the stores indefinitely in an administration process.

"Regrettably therefore we are announcing store closures that will result in a number of redundancies. We will be keeping staff informed of further developments in the coming weeks in what is a difficult time for all those involved.”

The chain launched a plan last August to shutter a handful of stores under a form of insolvency called a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

The deal also included three years of free rent on 20 sites.

But the move failed to save the chain, which is understood to have had trouble scraping together rent for its estate.

US-based stationery giant Staples agreed to sell its UK shops to Hilco Capital, the former owner of HMV, in late 2016.