JJB Sports shares suspended

Shares in JJB Sports were suspended this morning as the firm headed towards administration.

The retailer had been searching for a buyer after it failed to raise the funds it needed to attempt a turnaround of the business.

The firm said it had received offers to acquire certain of or substantially all of the trade, assets and brands of the group.

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However, it did not receive an offer for its shares, nor does it expect any offer to be forthcoming.

"The sale of the trade, assets and brands will be effected through an administration process," the statement said.

"The group will therefore continue to trade through all retail outlets outside of an administration pending completion of a sale process."

In its last trading update covering the six weeks ended August 26th, the firm said like-for-like sales fell by 3.3% and like for like cash margin dropped by 9.5%.

At that time JJB warned that after discussions with strategic investors its directors did not believe that the company would be able to raise the level of funds required to implement the turnaround.

It is unclear what any move into administration will mean for JJB's 180 stores and 4,000 employees.