The planned sale of electrical retailer Bennetts could be completed early next week.

Three partners at accountants PKF were appointed administrators of the Norwich-based firm on March 10 and confirmed they had entered exclusive negotiations with a preferred bidder on Thursday.

All 16 Bennetts branches, including 14 in East Anglia, remain closed, with no new orders being taken on the firm's websites.

PKF confirmed 228 redundancies on March 11, with 57 staff kept on for a range of duties including stock taking.

While the identity of the preferred bidder has not been made public, reports by staff suggest it could be Lowestoft-based electronics retailer Hughes, but neither Hughes or PKF were able to confirm this.

A consortium of Bennetts directors were also among those seeking to bid to buy the business.

Other reports suggested national chain Comet was interested in the business but the company declined to comment.