Breathe bought by Argos owner

Great Universal Stores, the owner of Argos, has come to the rescue of ailing internet service provider Breathe.com.

GUS will pay £1.4m for the assets and technology of Breathe, which went into administration at the end of last year.

The retailer said it was attracted to Breathe's "substantial expertise and technology in enabling multi-device access to the internet using PCs, Wap phones and other devices". It said the acquistion will enable it to expand its capabilities and services in the growing market for remote shopping.

John Peace, chief executive of GUS, said: "We are very pleased to have the opportunity to use the information and technology that we have acquired with breathe.com, with ease of use the top-most priority."

GUS, which will not assume any of Breathe's previous liabilities, said it expects the business to incur losses of between £4m and £7m in its next financial year. GUS promised to save 80 out of the 140 jobs at Breathe's London and Warrington offices.

PricewaterhouseCoopers was appointed administrator in December after the ISP, which was created in 1998 by mobile phone entrepreneur Martin Dawes, failed to secure a second round of funding. Some reports suggested it had debts of £50m.

Michael Horrocks, joint administrator at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Manchester, said: "We are delighted to have been able to conclude a sale in very difficult circumstances for breathe.com, saving around 80 jobs as a result."

Last May, GUS acquired web design agency Reality Group for £35m to establish its own third-party services and ecommerce group. Last September GUS bought online electronics retailer Jungle.com.