UK retailer Comet heads into administration
Electronics retailer Comet has confirmed it is planning to enter into administration later this month.
"Comet Group Limited can confirm that it has today taken steps to seek the protection of the Court with a view to the company entering into administration during week commencing 5 November 2012," a statement released on Thursday said. "In the meantime the board is urgently working with its advisers to seek a solution to secure a viable future for the company."
Comet said it is intending to try and honour customers' purchases that have already been paid for and said it was "business as usual until further notice". However, Comet's website is now inaccessible and instead displays the message in the image above as it prepares to put up a statement about the administration.
A spokeswoman for the company told ZDNet that no details about the number of employees the chain has or any redundancies could be shared at the time of writing.
Comet, which was established in 1933, was purchased by private equity firm OpCapita in February 2012 for just £2 but the company failed to turn around the fortunes of the loss-making electricals chain.
Despite Comet's long history on the UK's high streets, fierce competition from online retailers and a downturn in the economy have dissuaded many people from buying 'big ticket' items such as televisions and large domestic appliances from high-street stores.
Other retailers such as Best Buy and Dixons Store Group have also had to scale back operations in the country due to lacklustre performance.
Earlier this month, Dixons Retail closed the Dixons website, having previously removed the brand from the high street.