JJB Sports has announced that it has terminated talks which could have led to an offer.

The company said it had entered discussions with a third party – believed to be private equity group Cinven – but decided to halt the talks because it “concluded that the approach is unlikely to lead to an offer that would reflect the fair value of the company.”

The announcement saw shares in JJB drop by almost 19 per cent and came as the group revealed disappointing interim results.

First half pre-tax profits fell from £24.2m to £21.5m with like-for-like turnover down 1.8 per cent.

However, the expanding leisure division yielded encouraging results with an increase in operating profit of 24 per cent to £5m.

The company said its successful store and health club concept will form a key role in its future strategy and plans to open a further two sites this year with 16 scheduled for 2005.

JJB currently operates 19 health clubs with a combined membership of 79,000 members.