British retailer rumoured for bankruptcy

Rumours were circling in the city on Friday that another major British retailer was about to go bankrupt as conditions on the high street continued to deteriorate. A number of companies are due to make Christmas trading statements this week and several of them are expected to confirm that the consumer slowdown is biting hard. Richard Ratner, analyst at Broker Seymour Pierce said "it's a mixed bag out there; you could call it the survival of the fittest" he added that groups such as Matalan, HMV, Signet, Carpetright and Body Shop would probably show a decline in like for like sales numbers.

The BRC will confirm this week that like for like sales in December increased by 1 -2 per cent on Christmas 2004. Kevin Hawkins said that with households under severe pressure, those retailers who put in a strong performance at Christmas only did so by slashing prices. He said "I think, in terms of the detailed outturn for individual retailers, we're going to see a trade off between margins and sales"