Jobs are almost certain to be lost with the proposed merger between Grattan and Manchester-based mail order firm Freeman, according to a retail analyst.

Michael Godliman, of London-based Verdict Research, said: "There will be people in Bradford who will be worried about the changes that can happen when one firm is merged with another. It is almost inevitable that there are jobs lost.

"But the bigger issue is the survival of the company. Bosses do all they can to protect their companies and people's jobs because there is so much competition."

He said it could be this scenario which caused the sudden departure on Thursday of Steve Bullas the former chief executive of Grattan.

But a Grattan spokesman declined to comment on the proposed merger or the effect on jobs for the two companies.

Mr Bullas wouldn't be drawn on why he decided to quit the firm after three years at the top and the one topic he wasn't prepared to discuss at all was the merger which parent group Otto Versand has engineered.

When the merger happens, the two firms will be the biggest businesses involved in Otto UK - the British arm of the German-based group which is the world's biggest mail order company. Peter Lomas, the firm's former finance director who is the caretaker chief executive until he retires six months from now, would also not be drawn on the subject.

He said: "There is a point of difference between Steve and the Otto board which is a private matter. This is not about how Grattan is working today. The priorities set for Grattan remain in place."

The future for Mr Bullas is uncertain but it is expected that, as the leading authority on mail order in the UK, he will be head-hunted by big mail order firms such as Great Universal Stores or Littlewoods.

Mr Bullas said he had done a lot to bring jobs to Bradford by moving the firm's Kaleidoscope business from Leicester to the city, creating 350 jobs with a joint venture between Grattan and Tesco and creating hundreds of jobs by expanding the Grattan business. He added: "I have put a lot into Grattan and I now want to spend more time with my family.''

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.