Woolworths to close stores early next year

Administrators for Woolworths announced plans on Wednesday to close all the retailer's stores by the early new year, signaling the end of the road for the venerable British company and the loss of almost 30,000 jobs.

Deloitte, which was appointed to run Woolworths after it filed for a form of bankruptcy protection last month, said it would shut down the group's 800-strong chain of stores around the country in stages from Dec 27 to Jan 5 - unless it manages to sign a last-minute rescue deal.

Neville Kahn, joint administrator of Woolworths, said that 300 stores were under firm offer for sale to a number of separate buyers, but the remaining 500 outlets had failed to attract buyers.