Century-old UK fashion retailer Jaeger is reportedly on the brink of entering administration.

The 25-store strong chain was recently sold by private equity company Better Capital to an unidentified buyer, but according to a report in the Sunday Times, the business is believed to be beyond repair.

Better Capital paid £19.5 million for Jaeger in 2012, but the business has not been profitable since.

Jaeger received a royal warrant in 1910 and in its heyday, its fashion models included Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. But the business entered a decline in the 1980s, overtaken by more popular brands from Europe.

The Sunday Times reported the mystery buyer was Edinburgh Woollen Mill, which has a track record of buying distressed retail businesses and turning them around.

“Edinburgh Woollen Mill has a history of buying troubled retailers and turning them around, and it’s one of the more credible bidders for Jaeger,” an unnamed source told the Press Association.