Littlewoods has announced that it intends to buy Empire Stores' debtor book after it was reported that its owner Redcats was closing the business.

Separately, Littlewoods said it will acquire the Empire Stores brand name and customer database, subject to regulatory clearance.

Redcats is the UK arm of French retail giant PPR. The closure of the company is expected to result in the loss of up to 850 jobs.