No payment is likely to be made to non-preferential trade Focus creditors - who between them are owed some £61.5m, according to administrators Ernst & Young. 

Kitchen, bedroom and bathroom group Homeform has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators. 

Household goods suffer particularly badly, while grocers see their worst sales growth in two years, as consumers are squeezed by rising inflation. 

Home furnishings group Habitat has been bought by Home Retail Group (HRG) in a multi-million pound deal. 

Proteam administrator FRP Advisory has confirmed it is in discussions with a number of parties regarding the sale of the company. 

British Ceramic Tile (BCT) has announced the sale of its four Trade Warehouses to online tile retailer TileClick for an undisclosed sum. 

Department store reports a 9% sales uplift, as customers snap up bed and bath linen, as well as cooking and dining ranges ahead of clearance sale. 

Toolbank is the latest company to sign up for the Rainy Day Trust's Partnership scheme. 

New BHETA initiative will bring 31 Homebase buyers together under one roof for member 'speed-dating' event. 

According to new research, online shoppers in the UK show little forgiveness towards e-commerce sites that offer poor navigation, slow performance or unsatisfactory check-out but reward those sites that perform well and use personalised marketing tactics. 

Home Retail Group is in talks to buy home furnishings retailer Habitat, according to press reports today. 

Many retailers will be feeling the pinch tomorrow, the day on which quarterly rents for commercial property are traditionally paid. 

Comet is to shut 17 stores after making a £9m loss in retail profit for the year to April 30, 2011. 

Asda income tracker reveals a £61 a month drop in disposable income for UK households in May, as earnings growth lags behind price inflation. 

Fashion and homewares chain Life & Style is to close 22 of its 150 stores, with the loss of 274 jobs. 

Yesterday's BHETA agm saw John Newcomb re-elected for his second year as president of the association. 

Retail chain in discussions to open a new store on the Stephen H. Smith Garden & Leisure site in Scunthorpe 

Ripat Ltd, which owns Richard Burbidge and sister company Atkinson & Kirby, has acquired troubled timber products firm FW Mason from administrators for an undisclosed sum. 

The HTA has welcomed the revised Code of Practice offering new guidance on water use restrictions water companies can impose during shortages. 

Supermarket chain confirms Mr King's departure after just six months as chief operating officer.