HIGH ST BLOW
DEBENHAMS FALLS
BRISTOL’S retail sector has suffered a major blow with the collapse of department store giant Debenhams yesterday.
High streets and shopping centres across the UK will be hit hard by the closure, with 124 shops and department stores at the heart of many towns and cities.
The chain has a large store in Bristol’s Broadmead shopping quarter.
The company yesterday confirmed that a liquidation process had started, putting 12,000 jobs at risk, after JD Sports pulled out of a rescue deal. It follows Monday’s news that Topshop owner Arcadia was going into administration, in one of the worst weeks on the UK high street.
Debenhams said it would keep trading through its 124 UK stores and online in a bid to clear stock. It said its UK operations would close if there were no alternative offers.
Debenhams also has stores in Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Estonia, Gibraltar, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Libya, Malaysia, Malta, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates. Debenhams’ UK stores are often among the largest in the towns and cities they serve, and if the stores do all close they will leave big holes in high streets and shopping centres across the UK.
Geoff Rowley, of FRP Advisory, joint administrator to Debenhams, said: “The decision to move forward with a closure programme has been carefully assessed and, while we remain hopeful that alternative proposals for the business may yet be received, we deeply regret that circumstances force us to commence this course of action.”