NINETY-FIVE North-East jobs will go at an off-licence chain after it was broken up by administrators.

Wine Cellar, which operates the Booze Buster and Simply Drinks brands, called in Deloitte after it failed to find a buyer.

Deloitte said 109 stores had subsequently been sold to EFB Retail, saving 640 jobs.

However, 61 stores, including 19 in the North-East, will close.

As a result, 320 jobs will be lost – 95 of which are expected to be in the North-East.

Locations of stores that will shut include Darlington, Bishop Auckland, Hartlepool and Stockton.

Yesterday, the Booze Buster branch in Stockton Road, Darlington, was closed. A note on the door gave contact details for the administrator.

Deloitte partner Bill Dawson said: “The company has undertaken an extensive search to find an investor or buyer.

“However, it has become necessary to sell the business via an administration.’’ Wine Cellar, based in Cheshire, operated largely in the North-East and North- West.

It had branched out in some areas to general convenience retailing under its Simply Food and Drink stores name.

The stores that have been sold will now be owned by EFB Retail, a subsidiary of drink wholesaler European Food Brokers, owned by Rajinder Chatha.

Mr Chatha, who also owns the Whittalls Wines chain, is worth an estimated £50m, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.

The latest accounts available for the Wine Cellar group showed pre-tax losses of almost £1m in the year to January 27, last year, on sales of £62.6m.

Despite the losses, the accounts said the group “continued to buck the trend of a challenging retail alcohol market”.

It said the credit crunch and the smoking ban had encouraged drinking at home, while its move into convenience stores through the Simply Food and Drink stores had driven local custom.

It added: “The directors are confident of continued improvements in trading at a like-for-like level.”