Allders Announces Store Closure

The administrator of department store group Allders has announced the first store closure from the collapsed store chain. Administrator Kroll said the Allders store in Nottingham would close on March 24. A further 149 jobs will be lost, bringing the total redundancies across the chain to more than 900.

The Allders Nottingham store anchors the Broadmarsh centre, owned by global shopping centre operator Westfield. Other retailers in the centre include Boots, Bhs and Argos. John Lewis, Debenhams, House of Fraser, and a large Marks & Spencer store already trade in Nottingham, which is likely to have reduced the potential buyers of the Allders store in the city. It is one of 11 stores in which Kroll has said there had been 'limited' interest and was likely to close.

So far, 24 of the 45 Allders stores have been sold, with Bhs acquiring 10, Debenhams eight, and Primark six. Krol has also announced that shoppers will be able to use Allders gift vouchers until the close of business on March, after which they become invalid. Administrators are not legally obliged to honour vouchers bought before their appointment, which had led to confusion at certain stores. Kroll has decided to accept them up to the deadline.