The future of Comet's stores hangs in the balance: but the business brain behind Appliances Online has tabled a million pound plus bid for the website part of the drain-circling retailer.

As previously revealed, Dixons and Maplins are understood to have expressed interest in only a handful of Comet stores as administrator Deloitte sets about closing unprofitable outlets and preparing for mass layoffs.

A number of online traders took a seat at the bidding table for the Comet website but Deloitte has held out for a figure starting at the £1m mark and it seems to have snared at least one bid.

John Roberts, the man behind Bolton-based white goods etailer Appliances Online has confirmed he put in a "seven figure offer" for the web stores.

He said his firm expected to continue using the Comet name on the net but this hinged upon acceptance of the bid before further damage was done to the brand.

Deloitte are understood to have set a deadline of 14 November for offers from interested parties.

Wild rumours about possible buyers for Comet have circulated the in the channel since Comet's collapse some weeks ago.

Various sources have placed Darty Group among the bidders - with plans to put ex-Apple and Dixons big cheese John Browett at the helm - and former Woolworths CEO Trevor Bish-Jones, now head of Saudi retailer eXtra was also rumoured to be joining the fray.

Both tales are wide of the mark but reports suggest that Deloitte has received an offer for 140 of 195 Comet shops that could save the livelihoods of some 2,000 workers. ®