Health and beauty retailer Boots will become a franchisee of the Mothercare brand after the UK division of the children’s retailer went into administration last month.

Mothercare - which has a store on Monkswood Retail Park in Stevenage - appointed administrators for its UK division after recording huge losses.

In the financial year to March 2019, its international business generated profits of £28.3 million, whereas the UK retail operations lost £6.3m.

On Friday, Mothercare announced that it will retain a presence in the UK, with Boots set to become its franchisee for an initial five-year period.

Boots will stock Mothercare-branded clothing, and home and travel products - including pushchairs and car seats.

The Mothercare range will be available in larger Boots stores across the UK - including a number of Mothercare shop-in-shops over time - as well as on the Boots website.

Mark Newton-Jones, chief executive of Mothercare, said: "In Boots, we believe Mothercare has found the right home in the UK. Boots is at the heart of one of the largest healthcare businesses in the world, and Mothercare will fit in as the specialist brand for parents and young children in both Boots stores and online.

"We know the team at Boots well from our successful Mini Club partnership which has been established over many years, and we now look forward to working in an even stronger collaboration with the Boots team for the future.

"The announcement is fantastic news for the brand and the millions of Mothercare customers across the UK. It is also great news for Mothercare and our wider group of stakeholders after what has been a tough period. These are exciting times as we enter into these new arrangements with a partner of the scale, scope and stature of Boots."

* The closing down sale at Mothercare's Stevenage store means many items are now 50 per cent off - including all furniture - and all toys are now 25 per cent off.