BIDS have been received for the collapsed Courts’ furniture chain, raising hopes that the stores may re-open.

Eighty-eight stores across the UK, including seven in Kent, have stayed shut for more than a week following assaults on staff and property by customers angry at the prospect of losing their deposit on furniture they are unlikely to receive.

The latest incident involved an assault on a security guard at the Milton Keynes store. The man suffered a broken arm after allegedly being thrown through a shop window. There have also been problems at stores in Basildon, Thurrock and Sheffield.

Courts, which has stores in Maidstone, Gravesend, Dover, Canterbury, Ramsgate, Ashford and Erith, collapsed last month with debts of £280m. There are thought to be at least 50,000 customers owed money or furniture.

Mick McLoughlin and Chris Laverty of KPMG Corporate Recovery, joint administrators to Courts Plc and Courts UK Limited, confirmed the receipt of a number of indicative offers for significant parts of the UK chain.

Mr McLoughlin, head of the division, said: “We have received a good level of interest and are hopeful that we can sell a significant part of the business as a going concern.

“We anticipate that it will take two to three working days to obtain clarification of the bids and move onto the next stage of the sale process. We are looking for the best deliverable deal for the creditors, employees and customers.”

Bids have come from retailers, property companies, private investors, trade buyers and private equity houses.

Denouncing the violence, Mr McLoughlin said: "We appreciate customers’ frustration and would like to be able to open the stores to facilitate the release of stock that has been allocated to customers but we have to put the safety and security of Courts staff first. The closure of the stores does not affect the sale process."

Courts was founded in Canterbury in 1854. The Cohen family, which bought the group in 1945 and still owns a 44 per cent stake, has lost more than £75million,

Overseas operations are unaffected by the problems in the UK.

A customer and shareholder information sheet is available at www.courts.co.uk, and a helpline on 0870 950 1333.