High street budget store Big Bazar has been declared bankrupt after struggling to deal with rent and tax arrears for several months.

Company owner Jerke Kooistra had said on Monday that he was giving up on his battle to save the company, which owes the tax office at least €10 million. “We fought, but we have reached our limit,” he said via a lawyer.

Five companies had petitioned the court in Leeuwarden to declare the group bankrupt, including former owner Mirage, retail landlord Wereldhave and various suppliers. In total, the company has debts of some €30 million, court documents show.

Mirage, which bought Big Bazar from the Blokker group, sold it to Kooistra two years ago.

Big Bazar blames its problems on the after-effects of coronavirus, high rents and reduced customer numbers due to the economic downturn. The company had  around 100 outlets in the Netherlands and Belgium and a workforce of some 1,300.

According to the Financieele Dagblad, staff salaries will not be paid this month because two companies owed money had protested about the plan, saying it would disadvantage them.

The FD bases its claim on a note to staff on the company’s intranet.

Last week, domestic appliances group BCC also went bust. It was owned by Mirage Retail Group and had been struggling with high costs as well as strong competition from online shops such as Bol.com and Coolblue.