JJB Sports has sold discount retailer TJ Hughes for £55.8m.

A management team at the department store group is to buy the business, which JJB said in the summer had become a non-core asset.

JJB's new business was troubled from the start after the £42.9m acquisition in April last year drew a lukewarm response from investors.

Early trading was also difficult, although JJB said last month that the discount operation, which runs from 39 outlets, had started to show signs of an improved performance.

The disposal will allow JJB to concentrate on its core estate, which now comprises 447 stores, many of which also have health clubs.

JJB's chairman David Whelan said: "Having conducted a review of the group's activities, the board concluded that a sale of TJ Hughes at this time is in the best interests of the group."

The company plans to use the proceeds from the sale to reduce its debt, although it has not ruled out plans to return capital to shareholders.

The management buyout team includes TJ Hughes chief executive George Foster and has been backed by Prudential's private equity section PPM Ventures.

The sale price includes the repayment of a long-term loan of £6.8m.

Seymour Pierce analyst Richard Ratner said: "The business never fitted in - a view which seemed to have been shared by just about every other commentator. It would appear that the board has now come to the same conclusion."

Shopworkers' union Usdaw described the management buyout as positive news for the company's workers.

Usdaw general secretary Sir Bill Connor said: "We have good working relations with management at TJ Hughes, so we see this deal as good news.

"It is always unsettling for workers when the "for sale" signs are hanging over their company.

"The fact that JJB Sports has sought to sell-off TJ Hughes has been common knowledge for several months. Our members will welcome the end to this uncertainty.

"We now look forward to continuing our good working relationship with management."

Last month, Mr Whelan signalled an improvement in the performance of TJ Hughes with a 7.4 per cent same-store sales rise in the period since July 27.

While Mr Whelan said at the time that TJ Hughes was a non-core asset, he said he believed there was potential to expand the chain.