The fast fashion operator, which only has a clutch of UK stores including a flagship on London’s Oxford Street, said it would “exit most international locations in Asia and Europe”.

However, it will continue to operate in Mexico and Latin America.

Almost 180 of the closures could come in its native US as it bids to radically restructure to stay afloat.

Chapter 11 protection acts in a similar way to a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) in the UK, postponing a US company’s financial obligations to creditors to give it time to refinance or sell parts of the business.