Around 450 head office and support staff are being made redundant by Woolworths as the turmoil surrounding the stricken retail chain's future continued today.

Administrators announced that the staff cuts - out of a workforce of more than 25,000 - will affect the firm's head office and support operations in London and Castleton, Rochdale.

Deloitte, which was called in last week when the variety chain sank under its debts of more than £340m, added that no jobs would be cut at the company's high street stores and distribution centres for the time being.

The news came as Woolworths today held its "biggest ever" sale, with Deloitte continuing talks to potential buyers of the troubled retailer.

Administrators hired extra staff to cope with expected strong demand. Additional goods have been moved to all stores and further stock will be added in the coming days, Deloitte said.

Highlights of the sale include up to 50% off toys, 30% off Christmas trees and decorations, 50% off all greeting cards, 20% off personal gifts and reductions on all entertainment products.

Neville Kahn, joint administrator and reorganisation services partner at Deloitte, said: "We have launched Woolworths' biggest ever sale, which is complementary to and will not adversely impact upon our efforts to sell the business. We are extremely grateful to the staff and management for their continued support at this difficult time."

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

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 UK market leader Game Group. However, a GameStop spokesman denied the story.

"GameStop Corp has made no bid for stores being sold by the administrator of British retail chain Woolworths. Claims originating from games industry publication MCV hold no merit and are completely inaccurate," spokesman Chris Olivera said.

Deloitte confirmed there had been no redundancies at Woolworths' wholesale distribution business Entertainment UK, which was also placed in administration last week.

Kahn said: "The stores and distribution centres will continue to trade as normal, but with a simplified core structure supporting them.

"The administrators, supported by management, are still actively seeking a purchaser for the business as a going concern, with discussions being held with a number of interested parties.

"We are working hard to ensure that any sale of the business, in whole or in part, will preserve jobs."