Jersey-based Channel Islands Newsagents' 13-strong retail chain has been put up for sale.

Its owner, Guiton Group, publishes the island's Jersey Evening Post newspaper and is quitting retail to concentrate on publishing.

Property agent Christie & Co, which is selling the sites for Guiton, said the company had set up the business to protect the circulation of the Jersey Evening Post but, following the recent deregulation of the newspaper distribution industry, it had decided to exit retail.

The stores operate under two fascias - a CTN format called Pickwicks and a c-store format called rStore - which have combined sales of around £9.2m.

Interest in the stores, which are being sold as a group, had been "fair" Christie & Co said. There had been a number of positive enquiries, mainly from businesses on the UK mainland, and it expected a sale within the next couple of months.

Food retailers already operating on Jersey include Le Riche, which runs Checkers outlets; Marks & Spencer; Channel Islands Co-operative; and Spar. The multiples do not operate any stores on the island.

Guiton Group is owned by publisher Claverley Company. In January last year Claverley sold off its 150-store Stars News Shops business to Midcounties Co-operative Society in a move to focus on publishing.

It is not the first publisher to exit retailing for this reason. In July last year CTN chain Rippleglen acquired Northcliffe Retail, the CTN arm of Daily Mail and General Trust, in a deal believed to be worth £8.2m, so that Northcliffe could focus on local media.