Discount giant Poundland is set to close 80 stores across the UK following Steinhoff takeover.
Just two months after the difficult £597 million acquisition by South African company Steinhoff, which saw numerous offers and an extended bidding process, Poundland is to shut a large portion of its 900-store retail estate.
The takeover followed Poundland‘s similarly troubled £50 million acquisition of the 99p Stores chain, which was approved in September 2015 after a six-month investigation.
This half year delay was blamed on 99p Stores loss of credit insurance, causing its stock levels to plummet. Subsequently this led to Poundland‘s 84 per cent decline profits that year.
READ MORE: Steinhoff finally wins the battle for Poundland
It understood that these store closures could be to limit duplicate stores, as last year‘s merger saw 235 99p Stores rebranded in highstreets across the nation.
This is the first reduction of retail stores since the recession, where it established it presence by moving into the growing number of vacated retail locations.
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