FEARS over the future of JJB Sports intensified today after the retailer said it had failed to secure the funds needed to overhaul its stores.

The company announced it has put itself up for sale but warned that shareholders, who include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, may see their stakes wiped out in any rescue deal.

Wigan-based JJB, which has 180 stores and employs 4,000 people, has been involved in a long-running survival battle after a slump in sales and a string of profit warnings.