A CHAIN of cookware shops, with four outlets in the county including one in Bluewater, has gone into administration after being hit by falling high street sales.

ProCook Limited, trading as The Professional Cookware Company, operates 39 stores across the UK, including branches in Bluewater, Chatham, Ashford and Bromley.

Richard Hill and Joff Pope of KPMG Restructuring have been appointed joint administrators to the national retailer of kitchen equipment and cookware.

Mr Pope said: "Unfortunately the rapid expansion of the company into the high street has coincided with a time of tough trading for the retail sector, which means the business has hit problems. Trading will continue as normal whilst we seek a buyer for the business as a going concern."

The Professional Cookware Company was established in 1993 as a small family business. It now employs 261 staff, including 20 at its head office in Cheltenham.

It came to the attention of a wider public with the launch of its T304 Stainless Steel saucepan set in early 1996 and later sold through magasines and consumer fairs such as the BBC Good Food Show