All remaining Paul Simon stores to close
Administrators for the collapsed home furnishings retailer Paul Simon are to close all of the 22 remaining stores.
The closures will take place over the next three weeks and will result in the loss of 209 jobs.
Deloitte partner and lead administrator Lee Manning said: “We very much regret that a buyer for the remaining stores as a going concern could not be found. We will close stores over the coming weeks, selling the remaining unsold stock in these stores in clearance sales. The business cannot trade indefinitely without the prospect of a buyer.”
Earlier this month, the administrators announced the sale of seven Paul Simon stores to Lewis’s Home Retail, which preserved 73 jobs. In addition a further 21 stores were closed in April and May.
Manning added: “The sector in which Paul Simon operates remains a challenging market. Loss-making stores with excessive rents, a complicated delivery model for relatively modest transaction sizes and financing problems combined to reduce the ongoing viability of the enterprise. This ultimately led to the appointment of administrators and restricted the level of interest from potential purchasers.”
Prior to the administration, Paul Simon operated 50 leasehold stores and had 571 employees.
The remaining 22 stores due to be closed are: Aylesbury, Aylesford, Basildon, Byfleet, Catford, Chadwell Heath, Colchester, Crawley, Croydon, Fareham, Farnborough, Ipswich, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Norwich, Orpington, Peterborough, Rayleigh, Southampton, Stevenage, Swindon, Watford.
