Shopping centre owners may have to scramble for new tenants in the new year following the revelation from corporate insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor that over 320 British retailers are on its "critical watch list", meaning they have at least a 70% chance of insolvency.

British retailers typically account for between 33% and 70% of tenants in Irish shopping centres, according to experts here, meaning landlords could be left without some of their rent roll while also being hit by a slump in values if retailers go the wall.

The retailers are expected to be allowed to trade through the Christmas period before banks move in and shut them down if sales fail to meet expectations.

The head of one high-street chain told the Sunday Tribune last week that his sales in Ireland are down 20% across the board but he believes conditions may worsen in the coming months as the scale of the economic problems hits home.

MFI, the British kitchen and furniture retailer, which had begun advertising its Newry shop in Dublin, went into administration last week. In August, after it began advertising here, the company denied to the Sunday Tribune that it was "a struggling business".

Meanwhile, landlords of JJB Sports in Britain have sent bailiffs into several of its shops after the chain failed to pay rents on time.