Race is on to rescue Woolworths brand following administration
|
|
Published
:
Thu, 27 Nov 2008 08:25
|
London - Administrators called in by collapsed retail group Woolworths in Britain said Thursday that efforts were under way to find a buyer for the giant High Street chain. Accountancy firm Deloitte said it had received expressions of interest from "a number of parties" for both the retail arm and the firm's wholesale operation. The board of Woolworths, which employs up to 30,000 staff in 815 outlets across Britain, confirmed late Wednesday that the group had filed for administration. "We are working hard to ensure that any sale of the business, in whole or part, will preserve jobs," a Deloitte representative said. Stores would remain open for the Christmas period and salaries would be paid, he said. Woolworths' publishing business 2Entertain, a joint venture with the BBC's commercial arm BBC Worldwide, has not gone into administration as negotiations continue for the sale its 40-per cent stake. Woolworths, which reported half-yearly losses of nearly 100 million pounds (150 million dollars) in September, was reported to have accumulated debts of 385 million pounds. The possible disappearance of the traditional store, which has had a High Street presence in Britain for almost a century, would mark the end of an era, experts said. Woollies, as it is affectionately known in Britain, opened its first store in Liverpool in 1909, as a subsidiary of the US' FW Woolworths company. It came under British ownership in 1982, outlasting its US parent, which ceased operations in 1997.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Print this Story
