The Jacobs store on Cannon Street, London is among the 12 surviving outlets up for sale (picture credit: Alexis Clarke). Also shown is the empty aftermath of stock clearance at one of the seven Jacobs stores which closed earlier today
The family-run business, which was founded in 1939, has made 46 people redundant out of a total of
154 staff.
Shutting up shop are the stores in Birmingham,
Chelsea, Derby, Hull, Kingston-upon-Thames, Liverpool and Sheffield.
The closures represent more than a third of Jacob’s 19-store estate.
Eddie Kerr, a partner at accountancy firm PKF who is acting as joint administrator, said: ‘We have taken the difficult decision to
close a number of Jacobs stores and make redundancies across the business.
‘These measures are painful for everyone involved but they
are essential if we are to have a reasonable prospect of finding a buyer for
the business as a going concern, although we recognise there are likely to be
more challenges ahead.’
Kerr added: ‘We have already had a number of expressions of
interest from potential acquirers and are in a position to begin negotiations.’
Among the shops to close is the Jacobs store in Hull, which
employs four staff in addition to a regional manager.
Earlier today, employees in Hull were told to collect their
belongings.
Jacobs called in administrators amid unremitting
‘difficult trading conditions’, according to PKF.
WHAT WENT WRONG? – ‘NO SMOKING GUN’
One of the seven Jacobs stores which closed earlier today
