Woolworths has today begun closure sales across its 815 stores amid mounting anxiety that the retailer’s administrators will not find a buyer to rescue the company.

Woolworths went into administration late in November as the group collapsed under its £385 million debt. Negotiations over the sale of the firm’s individual stores are continuing, but many fear that administrators Deloitte has missed its chance at securing a buyer.

Deloitte partner Neville Kahn has said that some stores may permanently close before the year ends if a new owner is not sought. The administrators added that it would prepare and consult with Woolworths’ 30,000 staff for support in the event of redundancies.

“We continue to make every effort to convert interest in the Woolworths assets into firm offers,” said Kahn. “While we are still seeking bids from interested parties, Christmas is clearly the busiest time of the year for retailers and it is prudent to do all we can to sell existing stock. By moving to a store closing sale and further discounting the stock, we are maximising the sales potential that this period offers."

The Woolworths subsidiary Entertainment UK (EUK) – which distributes games, DVDs and Music to UK highstreet retailers – also fell into administration last month. The service is now under the intense media surveillance as numerous reports suggest it will soon enter liquidation.

Kahn has confirmed that some retailers have now cancelled their contracts with EUK, following the claim from multimedia retail chain Zavvi – formerly Virgin – that it was no longer receiving all its deliveries from the distributor. Mr Kahn said that EUK is now delivering goods.

A UK tabloid has also suggested that Nintendo is owed £21 million and Microsoft £26 million from the distributor, debts which will be left with both companies if EUK enters liquidation.

The matters at hand spell the darkest hour for Woolworths, a British institution which had opened its first store some 99 years ago. Since falling into administration the company had received much vocal interest from an abundance of interested parties, from the well-known venture capitalist Theo Paphitis to many of the UK’s biggest superstore chains.

Yet what remains elusive is a committed buyer, a problem no doubt propagated by banks remaining precautious over lending money as the global economic crisis seizes the UK economy. The lack of borrowing means that many potential buyers simply cannot risk supplying the funding for Woolworths’ working capital requirements  

Even GameStop was at one stage thought to be the company ready to rescue the retailer, though an Edge report suggested that this was unlikely, before GameStop itself refuted claims that it was interested in buying the company.

The sale of Woolworths has also been obstructed by the complicated nature of its ownership structure. Woolworths is owned by an unusually large number of individual freeholders, adding a great logistical challenge to negotiating the sale of Woolworths’ entire fleet of stores.

It is still understood that superstores such as Sainsbury's, Asda and Tesco are still interested in buying a portion of Woolworths’ key locations.