JJB Sports suffers as Sir Alan Sugar scents bargain in Woolworths

Retailers connected to Iceland’s banks took a battering yesterday as landlords of JJB Sports sent bailiffs into some of its stores while industry sources said that Baugur, the Icelandic investor, was trying to offload its assets. Bailiffs went into at least a dozen empty stores on which JJB has failed to pay £500,000 rent. The landlords are said to be seeking a statutory demand, which gives the retailer 14 days to pay before they initiate bankruptcy proceedings. Exista, an Icelandic investment firm that owned 20 per cent of Kaupthing, the bank that has just been nationalised by the Icelandic Government, holds a 29 per cent stake in JJB, alongside Chris Ronnie, the chief executive. JJB recently took a £20 million bridging loan from Kaupthing. A spokesman for JJB Sports said: “We have paid our rent in full and in a timely... [read full story]