The future of Irish retail chain Atlantic Homecare has been secured with the approval by the High Court in Ireland of a survival plan.
The loss-making business, which is part of Grafton Group, entered examinership in June, and in August was granted more time by the court to try to find a solution to its problems.

Now, the chain will formally exit examinership this Friday and continue trading as a going concern.

The survival plan, which was approved by creditors, produces a better-than-expected outcome for Atlantic and its employees. Last month it seemed that five of the 13 stores might need to be closed, but in fact only the two stores in Limerick and Newbridge in Co Kildare will cease trading.

With too high levels of staff in relation to the slump in Irish DIY business, it was also feared that there would need to be widespread redundancies amongst the 350-odd workforce. However, under the scheme 44 people will now lose their jobs - fewer than half the number first predicted.

Woodies DIY, a sister Irish chain under the Grafton umbrella, has pledged to invest €5.7m in Atlantic Homecare.