RUTHERGLEN-based Bavard Group, which owns the 60-strong Jeanster casual wear chain, has been forced to call in the receivers.

Bavard's collapse puts 700-plus jobs at risk throughout the UK - more than 400 of them in Scotland. It is yet another sign of the tough trading conditions being experienced by UK retailers, and follows a rapid expansion by the debt-laden company.

Joint administrative receivers Murdoch McKillop and Gordon Christie, of Arthur Andersen, are keeping the Jeanster stores trading in the hope of finding a buyer for them.

They have been appointed receivers of both Bavard and trading subsidiary Barclay Menswear Enterprises, which is behind Jeanster.

Bondglen, an associated company of Bavard which trades as The Original Levis Store, is not in receivership.

There are 36 Jeanster stores in Scotland, 12 south of the Border, and 12 in Northern Ireland.

The receivers were called in on Saturday and a spokesman for them said yesterday that they were still looking at the reasons behind the collapse.

But the spokesman added: ''The middle market is being squeezed. On the one hand, you have the upmarket designer products. At the other end of the market you have got very, very low-cost or low-priced products. In the middle, that market is under an awful lot of pressure.''

Bavard's collapse follows unsuccessful attempts to sell the business. Royal Bank of Scotland's venture capital arm looked last year at funding a #7m management buy-out.

But no deal was reached and Jeanster founder Jon Barclay, who had intended to settle on the Isle of Man, returned to Scotland towards the end of the year to take control of his business.

Bavard's collapse is just the latest of a raft of bad news in the retail sector. It brings back memories of Glasgow-based Goldberg's collapse in 1990, which also followed a rapid southern expansion.

International lingerie chain Knickerbox was put into administration in December and was bought a month later by Klesch Capital Partners.

Womenswear chain Oasis recently warned on profits, and even the largest of the retailers have been finding the going

tough of late.

Only 11 days ago, leading retailer Next lost about a quarter of its stock market value in one day after a profits warning. Its statement sent shockwaves through the entire sector.

There has also been speculation recently that Tom Hunter's Ayrshire-based Sports Division retail chain might decide to postpone its proposed stock-market flotation.

Bavard's annual turnover has leapt to about #50m following an aggressive expansion, which has seen it more than double the number of Jeanster stores in only about two years.

Asked whether a management buy-out of the business from receivership was on the cards, the spokesman for the receivers said: ''I think that a management buy-out is often a possibility in a situation like this, with a company in receivership. It is not an easy option. There are all sorts of options.''

He added: ''All the stores are open for business as usual, and the first job that the receivers are doing is to look at the business position and the finances of the company and, once they have done that, they will be in a better position to see where they go from there.

''One of the things the receivers will aim at is to get an absolutely clear idea of the trading position, the assets, (and) the finances, so they can put together a document for prospective purchasers. The end-game is to find a suitable purchaser for

the business.''

A Royal Bank spokesman, speaking on behalf of the bank's development capital arm, said: ''We did look at it last year but a deal wasn't done.

''As far as the current position is concerned, we are not actively looking at it at the moment. Obviously, we would consider it if people came to us with plans.''