Woolworths shares suspended

Trading in the shares of the Woolworths Group has been suspended on the London Stock Exchange.

The company said trading would resume once it had announced whether it would be selling its BBC show distribution service and its chain of retail stores.

In a statement, the firm’s Board also confirmed that it was in discussions with BBC Worldwide over a possible sale of its 40 per cent interest in the 2 Entertain DVD business, but that terms had ‘not yet been agreed’.

Of the sale of its retail business, the company reiterated that a deal is subject ‘to the approval of the Group’s lending banks’.

It added: ‘Accordingly, there can be no assurance that a sale of the Group’s retail business or of its interest in 2 Entertain will be concluded.’

Woolworths’ share price has nosedived over the last week as the company said it was in talks to sell its 850 retail stores to restructuring company Hilco for a reported price of just 1.