Linklaters has picked up a role on the administration of troubled department store Debenhams alongside Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Kirkland & Ellis and Allen & Overy.

Debenhams, which underwent a restructuring process in February, has been taking legal advice from a Freshfields team led by restructuring partner Ken Baird since the beginning of the process.

The department store had rejected Sports Direct founder and owner Mike Ashley's offer of a £200 million cash injection into the business and rejected the proposal to underwrite a £150 million equity issuance by Debenhams, with the store falling into the hands of its lenders.

Shares in Debenhams were suspended this morning (April 9), "pending a further update".

Linklaters is now advising the administrators, FTI Consulting, with restructuring partner James Douglas leading the Magic Circle firm's team, according to two people close to the situation.

An A&O team headed up by restructuring head Ian Field and head of corporate lending Trevor Borthwick is advising the lenders, while Kirkland & Ellis restructuring partners Kon Asimacopoulos, Sean Lacey and Partha Kar are advising the bondholders.

Last year, Freshfields and Kirkland were among a raft of firms to have advised on department store House of Fraser's administration process and subsequent sale to Ashley, founder and owner of Sports Direct, for £90m.

Elsewhere on the high street, DLA Piper is advising fashion retailer LK Bennett which fell into administration last month, while White & Case, Pinsent Masons and Shoosmiths picked up roles on the administration of high street fashion retailer Coast and the sale of its department-store concessions to sister company and rival Karen Millen last October.

High street restructuring processes have generated more than £6.5 million in legal fees for firms including DLA, Kirkland, Clifford Chance and Jones Day, according to liquidators' receipts statements.