'Retailers will rush to go private '

FORMER Asda boss Archie Norman, tipped to lead a bid for struggling supermarkets group Sainsbury's, today said he believed the number of retailers in private hands could more than double over the next 10 years.

'More and more private equity firms are raising substantial funds. The money is there to invest now,' he said in an interview with online business news service Cantos.

Norman said he 'might be interested' if a major retail opportunity came up, adding: 'Have I got irons in the fire? Well, of course I have. Of course I'm thinking about the future, but there's a few months to go.'

He stands down at the next General Election after eight years as an MP.

On the two great fallen retailers, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer, Norman said: 'Both are now trying to undertake in the public arena a massive turnaround, and it's very, very, very challenging.'

He blamed both companies for 'walking away from the brand' and said most ailing retailers have failed to close underperforming stores.

There was a 'temptation not to worry about your trail of walking wounded' - struggling stores - to keep expanding, he said. That got in the way of long-term vitality.