Retailer risks bankruptcy

Bloomberg

Woolworths, which opened its first shop in 1909, had Deloitte appointed as administrators yesterday after an attempt to sell the stores ended. MFI appointed administrators Wednesday.

Retailers are under pressure as a spending slump hits the U.K. The government pledged 20 billion pounds ($30 billion) of loans and tax cuts this week to spur the economy. Home-improvement retailer Kingfisher yesterday said consumer confidence was "shaken," while DSG International, the largest consumer-electronics retailer in the country, scrapped its dividend.

The administrators will look for a buyer for "all parts" of the Woolworths business, and have received "expressions of interest from a number of parties" for Woolworth’s retail and wholesale businesses in the last 24 hours, Deloitte’s Dan Butters said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.

Woolworths has more than 800 stores across the U.K. selling goods from candy to appliances. It employs about 25,000 people at its stores and four distribution centers. Furniture chain MFI, which was hurt by weaker demand as house sales plunged, had about 190 British stores and 2,500 employees.