Ernst & Young announces scheduled closure of a further 12 TJ Hughes department stores over the coming week
The branches will all go over the next week. Bootle, Coventry, Corby, Romford, Redditch, Plymouth, Oldham, Derby, Scunthorpe and Belfast are scheduled to cease trading this Sunday, August 21, Hanley will shut next Wednesday August 24, and Warrington on Friday August 26.

The move will result in another 585 staff being made redundant, and means that 43 of TJ Hughes' 57 stores have now been lost. Six have been bought by Lewis's Home Retail, including the chain's flagship Liverpool store.

Joint administrator at Ernst & Young, Tom Jack, said: "A purchaser for these stores was not found, and regrettably we have had to schedule the store closures. We are extremely grateful to the employees and management at all the group's stores for their loyalty and support during this very difficult time."

He added: "We are keen to stress that those stores unaffected by these closures will continue to trade for the time being."

Meanwhile, the USDAW union has hit out at the way Ernst & Young has been conducting the store closure process, saying that the firm may be operating to a pre-determined timetable, but that it has failed to keep TJ Hughes employees informed.

National officer John Gorle said: "Our members are understandably extremely angry at the way they are being treated.

"Loyal and hardworking staff are keeping stores open and running despite their precarious situation, and as an absolute minimum they should be getting regular and accurate information from the administrators and proper notice and consultation before being made redundant."