The group, whose brands include Karen Millen and Warehouse, is said to have lined up Neville Kahn at Deloitte to handle the insolvency, according to a newspaper.
Once in administration, the Icelandic bank Kaupthing, which is owed more than £400m by Mosaic, will immediately buy back four of the group's key brands, namely Karen Millen, Coast, Oasis and Warehouse. The deal will be done in partnership with Mosaic chief executive Derek Lovelock and other group managers, who will be given a 5% to 10% equity stake, according to the report.
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The plan is understood to be similar to a debt for equity swap, and it was reported that Kaupthing and Lovelock have said all of the group's suppliers will get paid in full, despite the administration process.
However, it is thought the group will take the opportunity to get rid of some of its unprofitable sites, while it is also expected to renegotiate rents on its more than 500 high-street shops.
Mosaic is 49% owned by Icelandic retail investment group Baugur, which was placed into administration earlier this year after its own survival talks with banks failed. Mosaic stressed at the time that Baugur's woes would have no effect on its day-to-day business.
However, the group is under pressure from worsening high-street conditions, while some suppliers have demanded up-front payments after the withdrawal of credit insurance last October.
Kaupthing, which was nationalised after the Icelandic banking crisis last autumn, is currently waiving interest and capital repayments on Mosaic's £400m debt while restructuring talks are ongoing.
A Mosaic spokesman declined to comment on the reports, but said talks with Kaupthing were progressing well. Other parts of Mosaic, namely Show Studio, which includes a number of footwear brands, and womenswear chain Principles are likely to be sold off separately.
Department store group Debenhams is understood to have tabled an offer for Principles, which already has concessions in its stores, while former Rubicon director Peter Davies, who ran Principles from 2001 to 2005, announced late on Friday that he had made a formal offer to reacquire the chain.
Shoe chain Dune is reported to be among the bidders for Shoe Studio, along with Sir Tom Hunter's West Coast Capital.
