TWO supermarket giants were named as potential suitors for the convenience store chain McColl's, as it collapsed into administration putting 16,000 jobs at risk.

Accountancy firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers has been appointed as administrators and is looking for a buyer.

McColl's said the company's lenders did not want to extend banking agreements that were keeping the business going.

Morrisons made an approach. “We put forward a proposal that would have avoided today's announcement that McColl's is being put into administration, kept the vast majority of jobs and stores safe, as well as fully protecting pensioners and lenders," Morrisons said.

“For thousands of hardworking people and pensioners, this is a very disappointing, damaging and unnecessary outcome."

It is understood that Morrisons is still interested, while it was also reported that forecourt giant EG Group, whose billionaire Issa brothers owners also own Asda, is interested in a deal.

Morrisons tabled a rescue deal which would also take on the business as a going concern, absorb its debts of over £100 million and take responsibility its pension scheme.

The two businesses are major partners, with McColl's operating hundreds of shops under the Morrisons Daily brand.

The Glasgow-founded convenience chain, which traded in much of Scotland as RS McColl, said it hopes that the administrators will help to "implement a sale of the business to a third-party purchaser as soon as possible".

McColl's has struggled as costs rose amid supply chain disruption, inflation and its large debt burden.

Shares in McColl's were suspended earlier in the week amid financing talks.

RS McColl was co-founded by Robert Smyth McColl, a Rangers and Scotland player, and his brother Tom in 1901, and the group was set up in 1973. Asda was contacted for comment.