Yorkshire stores earmarked for closure in New Look rescue plan

New Look has announced plans to close 60 out of its total 593 stores in the UK, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

Of the 60 stored the high street retailer is set to close, three are in Yorkshire.

The New Look store in Leeds city centre’s Core Shopping Centre, the Whitefriargate store in Hull and the Men’s outlet in Doncaster have all been identified for potential closure.

This announcement also includes a reduction in rental costs and revised lease terms across 393 stores.

New Look said these proposals are due to a “challenged trading performance and a difficult retail environment.”

The high street retailer has also confirmed that there is expected to be a maximum of 980 redundancies from its current UK staff base of 15,300.

However, New Look noted that “all efforts will be made to redeploy colleagues within the business where possible.”

All UK stores will remain open as normal during the period of the proposal and New Look’s online sales channel will be completely unaffected by the changes.

Daniel Butters and Neville Kahn of Deloitte LLP, the business advisory firm, have been appointed as Nominees to the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

Alistair McGeorge, executive chairman of New Look, said: “Given our challenged trading performance and over-rented UK store estate, we are having to take tough but necessary actions to reduce our fixed cost base and restore long-term profitability.

“We have held constructive discussions with our key landlords and strategic partners and will now seek creditor approval on our CVA proposal. A priority for us is to keep all potentially affected colleagues informed during this difficult time.”

Daniel Butters, partner at Deloitte, added: “The retail trading environment in the UK remains extremely challenging, driven by weaker consumer confidence, the implications of Brexit and competition from online channels.

“New Look is an iconic brand on the high street and the CVA will provide a stable platform upon which Management’s turnaround plan can be delivered. We have fully engaged with the British Property Federation and its members and their views are reflected in what we believe is a fair proposal to restructure the property obligations of the Company.

“It is important to stress that no stores will close on day one, and employees, suppliers and business rates will continue to be paid on time and in full.”