Just weeks before it was plunged into administration, beleaguered shoe chain Dolcis had to pay it's £900,000 loan back to its private equity backer.

Documents filed at Companies House just five days before the administration was announced, reveal that a charge held by Epic Private Equity had been satisfied in full.

Sources close to the company reveal the loan was paid back in December.

The chain also repaid a £1.5m loan to Lloyds TSB, the Telegraph reported.

Administrator KPMG is now trying to find a buyer for the company's remaining 35 stores following closure to 32 stores and redundancies of about 600 staff.

In January 2007, Dolcis sales fell to £62.2m - down from the previous year's £67.3m. Pre-tax loss increased from £2m to £5.9m over the same period.

Further reading:

Dolcis goes into administration-who's next?

KPMG hired as administrator for Dolcis

KPMG called in to review Dolcis options