Retailer Allders saw its woes increase as it revealed its profits had plummeted by 46 per cent.

Harvey Lipsith, chief executive of the group, which has a department store in the Westgate Centre, Oxford, and is the subject of a takeover bid from property firm Minerva, said the business had been hit by tough trading conditions and the impact of its own restructuring drive.

He added the group was uncertain how it would fare in the run-up to Christmas after seeing like-for-like sales fall two per cent in the past two months.

The company also revealed nine new concept stores had performed "below aspirations".

Pre-tax profits for the year to September 30 fell to £7.8m from £14.4m.

The group also faced restructuring costs from taking out 130 managerial roles earlier in the year in an effort to save cash in the long term.

Allders and Minerva agreed the principle terms of an offer last week, with Minerva saying it would offer around 160p per share plus a 4.4p per share dividend.