Struggling tea and coffee merchant Whittard of Chelsea has been placed in administration.

The 122-year-old company is the latest to be hit by the downturn in consumer spending following the recent collapse of retail icons Woolworths and MFI.

The Whittard name will remain on the high street after administrator Ernst & Young sold the firm to private equity company Epic in a rescue deal.

Whittard has around 130 stores in the UK, employing around 950 staff. It has a head office in London and a warehouse facility in Northampton.

Ernst & Young was also appointed administrator of coffee wholesaler Boaters, which is part of the Whittard group. This was also sold to Epic.

But the administrator said both businesses would continue to operate as going concerns and remain open for trading as usual.

Joint administrator Angela Swarbrick said the firms had been suffering trading difficulties due to the "uncertain economic conditions".

"Fortunately a deal was able to be done that sees the businesses of the companies able to continue to trade and the Whittard of Chelsea name, with its 122-year heritage, remain on the high street," she added.

Menswear retailer The Officers Club was later put up for sale by auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP after seeing business hit by the credit crunch.

Joint administrators Ian Green, Steve Ellis and Nick Reed announced that 118 of the 150 stores had been sold, securing the jobs of more than 1,000 members of staff.

But the remaining 32 stores will close immediately.

Mr Green said TimeC 1215 Limited, a company backed by David Charlton, chief executive of The Officers Club, had purchased the business and assets of the 118 stores.

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