Office stationery brand Staples is to disappear from Oxford and Banbury after it was sold off by its American owner.

Restructuring specialist Hilco has bought the company's two Oxfordshire stores, along with 104 others across Britain.

It said the Staples brand would be phased out in the UK in the coming months.

It is not yet known whether stores will be closed or whether redundancies will be made.

The struggling firm's most recent accounts showed Staples had reported pre-tax losses of £5m on its UK retail operations for the year ending January 2015.

Its online arm and business-to-business division in the UK have been performing better than the stores.

Hilco Capital spokesman Paul McGowan said: "While retail in the UK has been challenged recently, a team led by retail veteran Alan Gaynor will work alongside the existing management team to build a plan for success for the business."

Staples' Oxford store is in Park End Street while in Banbury it is based in Southam Road.

Staples chief executive and president Shira Goodman said: "Agreeing to sell our UK retail business to Hilco aligns with our go-forward strategy of focusing on our North American and mid-market business, and is a meaningful step in that process."