Perth branch of Beales among 12 UK stores to close
Department store company Beales is to close its Perth branch as administrators at KPMG begin the process to close 12 branches across the UK.
The move has meant more than half of the company’s stores are to close
Joint administrators Will Wright and Steve Absolom confirmed that they remain in active discussions with interested parties regarding a going concern sale of a number of stores. Unfortunately, however, the administrators revealed that the decision to close 12 stores had been made after no offers have been received in respect of selling all 23 stores as a going concern.
The following stores will be closed:
- Bournemouth
- Hexham
- Worthing
- Tonbridge
- Peterborough
- Mansfield
- Keighley
- Perth
- Spalding
- Wisbech
- Bedford
- Yeovil
In January, Mr Wright and Mr Absolom of KPMG were appointed as joint administrators of the department store company. In the year to March 2019, the company reported a loss of £3.1 million, an increase from £1.3m for the year before as costs increased and sales dropped.
It is anticipated that the stores due to close will continue to trade, running closing down sales for around eight weeks. Employees across these stores will be retained to assist with trading over the weeks ahead, and the joint administrators and their teams will continue to work closely with staff during this period.
There is currently no intention to implement closure plans for the remaining 11 stores, which will all continue to operate as usual until an outcome with regards to a sale of the business is clarified.