Dave Whelan is hoping to announce today that he is the owner once more of a slice of the JJB empire, having spent yesterday hammering out a deal to buy the retailer’s health clubs ahead of a midnight deadline.

Whelan, the founder of JJB Sports who sold his stake in 2007, told the Financial Times in an interview yesterday that a deal was imminent, now that he had unlocked funds from administrators to Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander.

Financial Times