22 Debenhams store closures put 1200 jobs under threat

The retailer has officially launched its CVA which will see it close 22 of its underperforming stores as early as next year

Debenhams chief executive, Sergio Bucher, announced last week that he was set to resign with a pay-off estimated at around £700,000.

Chairman Terry Duddy has taken over in the interim as executive chairman while a search for a new chief executive is conducted.

Administrators were appointed to the firm who immediately sold the PLC part of Debenhams to a newly-incorporated company controlled by secured lenders in a pre-pack administration deal in return for reducing the retailer’s £600 million debt.

A consortium of hedge funds and banks now manage the company and they have announced closure of 50 of its worst-performing stores, resulting in a potential job loss of around 1200.

“The issues facing the UK high street are very well known,” Duddy said.

“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.”

A full list of those due to close is as follows:

  • 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

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