Norbert's £100m Comet contract in the hands of the administrator

Norbert Dentressangle’s five-year, £100m contract with Comet is in the hands of administrator Deloitte following the biggest high street collapse since Woolworths in 2008.

Wincanton, Comet’s previous logistics partner, walked away from a warehousing and distribution deal with Comet on 30 April after it was unable to agree terms with OpCapita, the equity company that bought the chain at the start of 2012 from Kesa Electricals.

A spokeswoman for ND said: “We continue to operate our contracts with Comet Group, and will continue to do so for as long as our services are required by the administrator.”

ND manages store picking, dispatch and returns at Comet’s regional DCs in Skelmersdale, Lancs and Harlow, Essex. It runs a dedicated fleet of about 50 tractors and 160 trailers for Comet.

In total, there are 400 employees working on the operation, which includes Comet warehouse staff as well as ND employees.

It also looks after two sites in Scotland and the South West, which serve Comet’s 236-strong store network and home delivery sites throughout the UK, and manages Comet’s collection service.

A spokesman for Deloitte said the retailer continued to trade and the intention was to sell it as a going concern.