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The Works to be sold by March

12.02.08 | John Ryan

Administrator Kroll has given a deadline of 22nd February for expressions of interest in The Works to be completed. The discount books chain went into administration at the end of January.

Peter Saville, a partner in Kroll's corporate and advisory restructuring division, said: "It will only take us a couple of days after [22nd February] to work out which two or three offers to go with." He added: "My expectation is that the offers will take very different forms, ranging from pure cash to debt, or cash and debt."

He said the frontrunners in the race to acquire the bookseller were likely to take between two and four weeks to complete due diligence, and that this meant a deal was likely to be completed by mid to end-March.

Saville was at pains to point out that the retailer would not be sold as a break-up vehicle, and that any bidder making an approach on this basis would not be successful. "The market decides the level at which this company can be sold, but if it’s too low, we will undertake a restructuring ourselves," he said.

The 319-strong chain continues to be run as a going concern by Kroll pending a sale or restructuring.

• John Ryan
• Retail
• The Works