Allied Carpets is to be sold by its French owner as it seeks to exit the UK high street, it was reported today.

The floor-covering retail giant, which employs around 1,600 people and has more than 220 stores across the UK, is being offered for sale by its parent company Tapis Saint Maclou, said the Financial Times.

Allied Carpets has four outlets in Northern Ireland — in Lisburn, Coleraine, Newtownabbey and Bangor. The news comes as a spate of administrations in companies such as MFI and Woolworths has highlighted the vulnerability of the sector.

Homeware retailers have suffered particularly in the economic downturn as a result of the sinking property market.

Tapis decided on the sale after tiring of propping up the loss-making carpet chain, the FT said.

But Allied, which has been on the UK's high streets for more than 50 years, is in no immediate danger as it is supported by Tapis, Europe's largest carpet retailer.

Allied made an operating loss of £6.8m last year on turnover of £206.8m and some industry observers expect it to post a loss of up to £20m this year, according to the FT.

Tapis appointed an investment bank Lazard to find buyers, the paper said.

It added the decision to sell now, when valuation would be at its lowest level for years, would be taken as a sign that performance in the sector would deteriorate still further.

The newspaper said that Carpetright was unlikely to want to buy Allied and in any event would struggle to obtain approval from competition authorities given its dominant position.

Carpetright declined to comment.

No one at Allied or Lazard was available for comment on the future of the retailer.

Allied Carpets bills itself as a leading specialist in flooring with its product range covering carpet, wood, laminate, vinyl and rugs, including many lines exclusive to the retailer.

Yesterday, Whittard of Chelsea, the upmarket tea and coffee retailer, was sold in a pre-pack administration to private equity firm EPIC.

Although Ernst & Young's sale of Whittard offers its 950 staff some hope for the future, more than 3,000 UK firms have collapsed into administration in 2008.

Begbies Traynor, the insolvency expert, predicts that 15 household name retailers will fail in the next month.

Footfall data from Experian on Tuesday showed a sharp increase in the numbers of Christmas shoppers on Monday compared with the same day last year.

However, gloomy retailers warn that they are having to sacrifice profit margins in a desperate attempt to lure shoppers in.

Many retailers have already begun their Christmas sales in a bid to boost their returns and bargain-hunters were taking advantage of the deals today.