Investors in big cities are quietly consuming small businesses all over the country.

Jonathan Reynolds’ team has written to Gordon Brothers, which bought retailer for £1 last summer, to ‘establish the facts’

The business secretary’s team has written to the owner of Poundland amid fears that the cut-price retailer could collapse into administration, threatening to overshadow John Healey’s budget.

Sources said that Gordon Brothers, the US investment firm that bought the 600-store Poundland chain for £1 last summer, looks set to appoint administrators to the struggling retailer.

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© Photograph: Paula Solloway/Alamy

© Photograph: Paula Solloway/Alamy

© Photograph: Paula Solloway/Alamy