Sales at vacuum retailer Godfreys have tumbled by an alarming 15 per cent in June, triggering another hefty profit downgrade and a fresh dilemma for 99-year-old John Johnston and his advisers as they urgently try and arrest the downward spiral.

Mr Johnston, a co-founder of Godfreys in the 1930s who is trying to preserve the value of the business for his family through a takeover launched on April 9, has now moved to control 82.9 per cent of the company, but the speed of the sales deterioration in the past few weeks is ominous.