ONE of the favourites to buy JJB Sports has dropped out of the running for the ailing retailer, although advisers handling the sale have received strong interest from a range of potential bidders.
Private equity firm Better Capital, founded by venture capitalist Jon Moulton, did not submit a bid by the Friday deadline. JJB founder Dave Whelan is understood to have ruled out making an offer, but could pick up individual stores if the retailer was bought or fell into administration.
The sportswear chain, which has 180 branches and employs 4,000 people, put itself up for sale last month after failing to secure the funds needed to overhaul its stores. In April it landed £20 million from US retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods and £10m from existing shareholders, but continued poor trading meant it needed additional funds sooner than it had expected. Like-for-like sales fell 3.3 per cent in the six weeks to 26 August.