James Moore: Blacks was let down by past management

Outlook: Another day goes by, another retailer goes pop. This time it is Black's Leisure, and perhaps the only surprise is the fact that it's been able to limp along for as long as it has.

Given that people will spend a small fortune on equipment to torment themselves in the great outdoors it ought to make money but, as ever, has been let down by past (bad) management saddling it with unmanageable costs and debt based on grossly over-optimistic assessments of what it could become.

A buyer will be found, thanks to the ever-popular "pre-pack" administration allowing the business to shed a lot of bad bits.

The Dragon's Den star Peter Jones was interested, but this was a red herring (generating some nice publicity all the same).

The real battle is probably between Sports Direct (Black's biggest shareholder) and JD Sports. And the chances are it will continue long after the deal is done, particularly if the latter emerges as the winner.