All Focus stock is to be liquidated and the remaining stores closed. A closing down sale started this morning.
In a statement released this morning, Ernst & Young announced the appointment of retail consultants Gordon Brothers to "advise on the sale of all stock of the Focus DIY stores, with a view to closing down the retail chain. The closing down sale begins this weekend."

[In actual fact, the sale starts today. A mailshot announcement to Focus shoppers emailed out yesterday afteroon. It advised them that the closing down sale was to start today and that all stores are closing.]

Despite securing the sale of 55 Focus stores, no buyer has been found for the remaining 120 or so stores

Joint administrator Simon Allport said: "We have been working hard to sell the business as a going concern and to maximise value for creditors. While we have been successful in securing up to 900 jobs from the sale of 55 stores in three separate deals, finding a buyer for the whole of the business has not been possible."

Ernst & Young said that negotiations are ongoing regarding the sale of a number of other stores, but that "the stock liquidation is likely to result in a number of Focus stores closing with remaining employees going through a redundancy process."

The remaining stores employ an estimated 3,000 people.