London - Shoppers in Britain were Thursday flocking to catch a bargain at the Woolworths retail chain faced with closure by the end of the year after administrators failed to find a buyer for the traditional High Street chain.

More than 30,000 staff at 815 outlets across Britain could face redundancies after accountancy firm Deloitte announced that efforts to rescue the 99-year-old chain had failed.

Deloitte has said that some shops could close for good by the end of the year, while talks would be held with the trade unions over redundancies.

Negotiations over some of Woolworths' prime sites were also continuing.

The impending closure of Woolworths, which called in the administrators at the end of November, marks the end of era in Britain.

It reported debts of 385 million pounds (570 million dollars).

The chain opened its first store in Liverpool in 1909, as a subsidiary of the US FW Woolworths company.

It came under British ownership in 1982, outlasting its US parent, which ceased operations in 1997. (dpa)