Mothercare will now close 60 stores, resulting in 900 redundancies, as it tries to turnaround its ailing UK retail business.
This is an additional 10 stores on top of the 50 the retailer had proposed to shut down as part of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).
Nine of the stores added to the closure programme were formerly branches of Children’s World that have been rebranded as Mothercare, since its takeover in 1996. These stores are expected to close by the end of September (2018) and are located in:-
- Rotherham
- Weybridge
- East Kilbride
- York
- Oxford
- Stockton
- Wakefield
- Slough
- Altrincham
Mothercare currently trades from 22 former Children’s World stores, however, landlords of the other 13 have agreed to let the lease to transfer to Mothercare UK Ltd. These stores are:-
- Preston
- Hull
- Chester
- Basingstoke
- Leamington Spa
- Swindon
- Watford
- Taunton
- Anniesland
- Aberdeen
- Tamworth
- Edinburgh
- Aylesbury
Since the CVA was proposed, Eltham, Jersey and Tunbridge Wells stores have already been shut down as the leases had expired.
Landlords have also served notice on Brixton and Bedford branches. These stores were due to close with 12 months as part of the CVA, however, Mothercare wanted reduced rents for the remainder of its time which the landlords will not accept.