Bids received for selected stores, but London flagship still up for grabs
Allders' administrator Kroll has confirmed it has received no viable offer for the retailer as a going concern. The statement follows reports yesterday that it was holding discussions with bidders for 35 of the 45 stores.

Kroll administrators Andrew Pepper and Alastair Beveridge said in a statement: 'We have today completed our assessment of the 36 bids for the group. While we had hoped to secure a going concern sale for the entire business, this has not been possible.'

Staff at the stores being discussed are expected to transfer to the new owners, while the 10 remaining stores began their closing down Sales on Saturday. No redundancies have yet been announced.

Kroll has given no details about who the potential bidders are and which stores are being considered. However, according to press reports, Debenhams, House of Fraser and Bhs are all thought to be interested in selected stores.

One of the high-profile bidders being named by the press is former Allders chief Harvey Lipsith, who is understood to be making a£50 million bid for a dozen stores. Lipsith led the flotation of Allders in 1989, but was ousted in 2003 when the retailer was acquired for£162 million by Terry Green vehicle Scarlett Retail, backed by property group Minerva and Lehman Brothers.

It is understood that the flagship Oxford Street store in London is one of the stores still up for grabs.

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