Woolworths stores to close by January 5

Deloitte, administrator to Woolworths, the 99-year-old British sweets-to-DVDs retailer, said it plans to close all of its 807 stores by January 5, resulting in the loss of 27,000 jobs, if no sale of the business is agreed by then.

Neville Kahn, joint administrator, told reporters 200 stores would close on December 27 followed by tranches of about 200 stores on December 30, January 2 and January 5, meaning 22,000 permanent and 5,000 temporary staff would be made redundant unless a buyer for the retail business is found.

The announcement coincided with news that the number of Britons out of work and seeking benefits surged last month by the biggest margin since 1991.

Mr Kahn told reporters on a conference call that Deloitte was "in discussions with some parties that have come in as recently as this weekend" in respect of Woolworths' retail business, including investors from the UK and overseas. He also said Deloitte was in talks with interested parties about selling the Woolworths brand and trademark as well as the rights to toy brand Chad Valley and clothing line Ladybird.

Mr Kahn said Woolworths had been trading strongly over the last few days and that it would reload its stores with stock and increase discount activity over the next week.

"We will replenish stock with up to 50 million items including DVD's and CD's in the coming days. The sale range is between 20 and 60 per cent at the moment and the upper range will increase as we get closer to closure," he said.

Woolworths Group Plc's retail business collapsed into administration, along with its Entertainment UK wholesale distribution business, on November 27.

Deloitte announced last week it had failed to find a buyer for both businesses and said shops could close by the end of the month.

It commenced a closing down sale at the stores on Thursday and on Friday made 700 employees redundant.

Mr Kahn also said 300 of the stores were "under offer" and that there was "considerable interest" in the remaining 500, with bids in from food, clothing and value retailers.