Former Woolworths boss and British Retail Consortium chairman Sir Geoff Mulcahy has said that Woolworths could have been saved and has branded Deloitte's decision to close the chain 'disgraceful'.

Mulcahy, who ran the retailer for two decades after buying it in 1982 and demerging it from Kingfisher in 2001, told The Daily Telegraph: "The whole thing is disgraceful - there are lots of losers in the situation.

"The whole administrative process needs to be looked at as there are two businesses here that could have been made profitable".

Yesterday, Deloitte said it willclose all 800-plus Woolworths stores by January 5 unless a last-minute buyer is found. It is in talks to sell stores to other retailers and is seeking buyers for Woolworths' entertainment distribution arm, EUK.

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