A slew of household-name High Street retailers are warning of a bleak outlook – with some teetering on the brink of collapse – after a wave of announcements rocked the City today.

The warnings came as talks in Washington to approve the US Government’s $700 billion bailout appear to have stalled, providing a strong sign that the crisis on America's Wall Street is having a devastating effect on Britain's High Street.

JJB sports, one of the High Street's most familiar stores, lost nearly half of its market value after revealing that its accountant had accused it of breaking the terms of its loans with Bank of Scotland, part of HBOS. The company refuted the claim.

John Lewis Partnership, which owns the Waitrose supermarket chain as well as the famous employee-owned department stores, said sales had plummeted since the financial storm of last week, when Lehman Brothers went into administration and HBOS was rescued by Lloyds TSB.

MFI, the furniture chain, is in urgent negotiations with its landlords ahead of its quarterly rent bill, days after seeking emergency funding. It is thought to be in discussions over a management buyout.

Rosebys, the furnishings and curtain chain, went into administration, jeopardising 2,000 jobs.

Hardy Amies, the one-time dress-maker to the Queen, proved that the top end of the market is providing little shelter when it announced that its future is in peril. Shares in the Savile Row tailor were suspended “pending clarification of the company’s financial position” and the company may go into administration.

The City is also bracing itself for Marks & Spencer’s trading update next week, with analysts downgrading their expectations of the company’s performance. Figures released yesterday by the CBI showed that sales across the retail sector had fallen for the sixth time in a row this month.

Retailers have been crunched in a “pincer movement” that has seen costs rise just as consumer confidence has been struck by fears over the economy and the unprecedented financial turmoil of the last week.

Costs have risen because of commodity price rises and the weakening of the pound, which has pushed up the price of imports.

John Lewis said sales fell 5.6 per cent to £47.34 million across its 27 department stores and online operation. Sales at Waitrose, the upmarket supermarket chain owned by the group, have slowed dramatically.

Meanwhile, JJB Sports, which this morning tried to reassure investors that it did not break its banking covenant, scrapped its dividend to shareholders as it slumped to a pre-tax loss of £9.7 million for the first half of the year to July 27. It has already shed 800 jobs by closing 27 loss-making stores. JJB said it expected the tough conditions to last until 2010.

The gloomy retail picture has been compounded by another dismal day in the banking sector, where HSBC has announced it is shedding 500 jobs in the UK, and Bradford & Bingley's share price sank again.

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