Time was today called on specialist furniture retailer Clement Joscelyne after the administrator said that it had failed to find a buyer for the whole of the business.

The family run firm, which has been trading since 1879 and had a store in Norwich, went into administration in May with the loss of 23 jobs and the closure of its Bury St Edmunds store, the in the wake of difficult high street trading conditions.

Joint administrator Glyn Mummery, partner at FRP Advisory LLP yesterday confirmed that despite concerted efforts to achieve a sale for the South-East furniture retailer no offers for the business as a whole had been received, which will has led to the closure of the Norwich store and its other outlets apart from London, where buyers have been found.

However one London branch has been sold, saving four jobs while FRP Advisory also confirmed the sale of shares in subsidiary company Charles Page Interiors Ltd – safeguarding the Swiss Cottage showroom.

Mr Mummery said: 'After a lengthy process exploring all avenues for Clement Joscelyne, unfortunately an opportunity for a sale of the company in its entirety was not found. It was therefore decided to carry out a closing down process in order to retrieve as much value as possible for creditors. The administration process had also served to facilitate the completion of a significant proportion of customer orders, thereby protecting customer deposits'.

'All operating branches have now been closed apart from the flagship store in Cambridge, where we are conducting a closing down sale until the end of the month,' he added.

Clement Joscelyne had branches ated in London, Cambridge, Norwich, Brentwood, Brighton, Bury St Edmunds and Bishops Stortford.