CHARLTON Athletic is seeking a new sponsor and dozens of staff in Kent face an uncertain future after the collapse of a sports goods retailer.

The Allsports group of companies has gone into administration following a long period of falling sales.

They are thought to owe the Premiership club more than half a million pounds in the final year of a four-year shirt sponsorship deal.

The group – Allsports (Retail), Allsports Limited and Allsports .co.uk – is another victim of the downturn in High Street spending.

Allsports is one of Britain’s leading sports goods retailers with over 260 stores nationwide employing about 1,700 staff.

The company runs nine shops in the county: Maidstone, Gillingham, Chatham, Gravesend, Ashford, Bluewater, Canterbury, Bexleyheath and Bromley.

Partners at BDO Stoy Hayward have been appointed joint administrators.

Dermot Power, joint administrator, said shops would trade normally for the time being but warned that branch closures and job losses were inevitable.

He said: "Like-for-like sales have fallen significantly. The business faces numerous challenges.

"We need to assess the issues quickly and take the necessary actions needed to allow the business to move forward."