National retailer Office Outlet is closing down its two Kent stores.

The stationery chain, which was formerly part of the Staples group, plunged into administration last month.

Now, closing down signs are plastered across the stores in Canterbury and Ashford.

Specific dates for the closures are yet to be set, however, both outlets could go before the end of the month.

The firm, which is totally separate to the now online-based Staples group, took over the reigns of more than 100 Staples branches back in 2016.

But after financial struggles, Deloitte were appointed as administrators this spring.

The closure of the Canterbury store on the Wincheap Industrial Estate comes a few months after the nearby Homebase store bowed out of the city.

The Ashford store is located on the Warren Retail Park which has been the subject of a sea of changes of the years, with a number of retailers moving in and out.

Just this winter, a car ploughed into the soon-to-be closed store.

Richard Hawes, joint administrator, said: "A buyer has yet to come forward for the business in part or in whole and we cannot continue trading all the stores indefinitely in an administration process.

"Therefore we are announcing a further round of store closures that will be completed over the next three weeks, also resulting in a number of redundancies. We are keeping staff informed of developments as they happen in what is a difficult time for them.”

Of the confirmed closures across the country, 167 employees are being made redundant.

Office Outlet, which provides stationary products, business technology, and copy and print services, has 90 stores nationwide.

The firm's website is no longer operational, aside from a message saying 'everything must go'.

Read more: All the latest news from Canterbury

Read more: All the latest news from Ashford