Republic chairman Andy Bond left the fashion retailer last week it has emerged, as it appointed restructurer KPMG to help it shed some of its 121 stores.

Bond has left after less than two years at the business. It is understood that Bond revealed his intention to leave the retailer in October.

The departure comes as private equity group TPG, which owns Republic, has appointed KPMG to advise on the restructuring in the hope of making it more profitable.

A property industry source told The Times that Republic wanted to resolve the issue in the next six weeks before the rent bill for the next quarter arrives.

It is understood that landlords have moved to allow Republic to pay monthly rents but have been reluctant to lower rents.

Both Republic and KPMG declined to comment on the issue.

Yesterday Republic shut down store Twitter accounts, which comes a week after an HMV employee revealed head office redundancies through rogue tweets.

Republic’s profits in the year to January 2012 crashed 86% to just £3.7m. Private equity chain TPG bought the business for £300m in 2010.

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