Salford riots close down TJ Hughes store for good
By Ben Sillitoe - 05:12PM - Wed 10th August 2011
Failed department store group TJ Hughes is closing its Salford store with immediate effect after looters vandalised property and stole goods from the site in last night’s riots in the city, it has emerged.
Administrators at Ernst & Young (E&Y), who are currently trying to find buyers for the business which collapsed last month, announced this afternoon that it is no longer viable for the store to continue trading.
Eight further store closures have been revealed today as bidders for the retailer’s properties appear to be diminishing, despite non-food specialist Lewis’ Home Retail acquiring six outlets since the start of the month.
TJ Hughes in Middlesbrough, Preston, Southend, Bristol, Kings Lynn, Newport, Ipswich and Maidstone will also all shut down between August 16th and 18th, resulting in the loss of 474 jobs.
A store closure programme containing 22 stores had already been announced on August 4th, which will result in another 1,061 unemployed retail staff by the end of this weekend.
Tom Jack, Joint Administrator at E&Y, said: “It is regrettable that we have had to schedule these store closures and we are extremely grateful to the employees and management at all the group’s stores, the head office and warehouses for their loyalty and support during what has been a very difficult and uncertain time.”
Commenting on the sudden closure of the Salford store, he added: “We had hoped to allow trading to continue for longer at the Salford store to give the best chance of find a buyer but after last night’s attack this is no longer possible.
“We continue in negotiations with interested parties for a number of the remaining stores in the group’s portfolio, and we are keen to stress that those stores unaffected by these closures will continue to trade for the time being, with new stock lines being added.”