GameStop denies bid for Woolworths stores

LONDON (Reuters) - Stricken retailer Woolworths is cutting 450 jobs from support operations, administrators Deloitte said on Friday, as they remained locked in talks aimed at finding a buyer for the sweets-to-DVDs chain.

Separately, U.S. computer games retailer GameStop denied a report by computer games publication MCV that it had made a bid for around half of Woolworths' 815 stores.

Last week, Woolworths' retail and distribution businesses sank into administration, a form of creditor protection, the biggest British casualty so far of a sharp slowdown in consumer spending.

Deloitte said there had been no redundancies in either Woolworths stores or its EUK distribution operation and that it expected the stores to remain open beyond Christmas, with all staff paid in full.

The retail chain and EUK employ around 25,000 people. The offices affected by the job cuts in Marylebone Road, London, and Rochdale, employ over 1,100 staff.

Deloitte also said a discount sale at Woolworths on Friday looked like being the single biggest day's trading in the chain's 99-year history, with sales receipts nearing 25 million pounds ($36.7 million).

It said the sale would continue over the weekend, joining other retailers running major discounts such as department stores group Debenhams, which said earlier that it would extend its latest sale for two more days.

In an article on its website, MCV quoted an unnamed "well-placed source" as saying GameStop had made a bid for about half of Woolworths' stores in a move that would step up competition to market leader Game Group.

However, a GameStop spokesman denied the story.