Jobs lost as Carpetright announces closure of 92 stores

Carpet retailer Carpetright is set to close 92 stores with the loss of 300 jobs as part of a companywide restructure.

The business said 11 of the sites due to shut have already ceased trading.

Carpetright, which has 2,700 employees across 409 stores in the UK, announced the closures after a review of its estate found that 205 sites were either underperforming or operating on unfavourable leases.

The firm will aim to offer affected staff positions elsewhere, while rent on the other 113 struggling stores will be reduced.

Carpetright chief exec Wilf Walsh said: “These tough but necessary actions will enable us to address the burden of a legacy UK property estate consisting of too many poorly located stores on unsustainable rents, and are essential if we are to restore our profitability and deliver a successful turnaround.

“We will remain in close contact with all colleagues to keep them fully informed as we move through this process.”

Mr Walsh said the problems stemmed from previous bosses’ pursuit of an “aggressive store opening strategy” for the retailer.

Carpetright reported in a March financial update that trading was “difficult” and it expected to report a loss for the 12 months to April 28.