Marks & Spencer yesterday put its US-based company, Kings Supermarkets, up for sale, but said it would keep classic US menswear retailer Brooks Brothers and expand it internationally.

Britain's largest clothing retailer, struggling to bounce back from a slump in profits last year, said it had decided to sell its New Jersey supermarket operation because it did not fit M&S's overseas strategy.

M&S has appointed Morgan Stanley Dean Witter to handle the sale of Kings, which has 25 stores in New Jersey. The chain is estimated to be worth around £120 million sterling.

The move is part of a major shake-up of M&S's overseas operations. It has already closed seven stores in continental Europe and pulled out of Canada earlier this year, with the loss of 900 jobs.