Debenhams to close 22 stores: full list

Debenhams has announced that it will close 22 stores early next year, putting 1,200 jobs at risk.

Here is the full list:

• Altrincham

• Ashford

• Birmingham Fort

• Canterbury

• Chatham

• Eastbourne

• Folkestone

• Great Yarmouth

• Guildford

• Kirkcaldy

• Orpington

• Slough

• Southport

• Southsea

• Staines

• Stockton

• Walton

• Wandsworth

• Welwyn Garden City

• Wimbledon

• Witney

• Wolverhampton

The department store chain is planning to close a total of 50 of its worst-performing stores but has yet to confirm the locations of the remaining shops at risk.

Debenhams, which employs 25,000 people, was taken over by its lenders a fortnight ago in a pre-pack administration that wiped out shareholders. Its new owners, who are a consortium of banks and hedge funds, are launching the major store-closure programme via an insolvency process known as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) before the end of this week.

In March the indebted chain secured a £200m package of new loans and so far Debenhams’ 166 UK stores have continued to trade as normal. The first tranche of 22 stores to close employ more than 1,000 staff and will shut after trading through the key Christmas period.

A growing number of retailers, struggling as sales shift online, are using CVAs to scale back their high street presence and reduce rent bills. Considered a last resort for ailing chains, the plan must be signed off by landlords and other creditors.