Debenhams has announced that it will close 22 stores early next year, putting 1,200 jobs at risk.
Here is the full list:
Altrincham
Ashford
Birmingham Fort
Canterbury
Chatham
Eastbourne
Folkestone
Great Yarmouth
Guildford
Kirkcaldy
Orpington
Slough
Southport
Southsea
Staines
Stockton
Walton
Wandsworth
Welwyn Garden City
Wimbledon
Witney
Wolverhampton
The department store chain is planning to close a total of 50 of its worst-performing stores but has yet to confirm the locations of the remaining shops at risk.
Terry Duddy, the executive chairman of Debenhams, said: “The issues facing the UK high street are very well known. Debenhams has a clear strategy and a bright future but in order for the business to prosper, we need to restructure the group’s store portfolio and its balance sheet, which are not appropriate for today’s much-changed retail environment. Our priority is to save as many stores and as many jobs as we can, while making the business fit for the future.”
Debenhams, which employs 25,000 people, was taken over by its lenders a fortnight ago in a pre-pack administration that wiped out shareholders. Its new owners, who are a consortium of banks and hedge funds, are launching the major store-closure programme via an insolvency process known as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).
In March the indebted chain secured a £200m package of new loans and so far Debenhams’ 166 UK stores have continued to trade as normal. The first tranche of 22 stores to close employ 1,200 staff and will shut after trading through the key Christmas period.
A growing number of retailers, struggling as sales shift online, are using CVAs to scale back their high street presence and reduce rent bills. Considered a last resort for ailing chains, the plan must be signed off by landlords and other creditors.
