Beales announces head office redundancies

As Beales enters administration, an initial round of job cuts to the department stores head office has been made, affecting 32 members of staff.

The news comes after the department store chain collapsed and fell into administration at the end of January, as it failed to secure a sale to a new owner. The struggling department store appointed KPMG as administrators, with staff across all stores continuing with their jobs to assist KPMG with trading.

The redundancies so far have been predominantly made across back-office support roles in the department store’s Bournemouth head office. The 32 staff who have been laid off represent nearly half the head office team at Old Christchurch Road, where Beales was founded in 1881.

A statement from KPMG confirmed the redundancies, with the staff having been advised to make claims to the government’s redundancy compensation scheme.

The statement said: "The joint administrators of Beales confirm that all of the stores remain open, and will continue to trade while discussions with a number of interested parties regarding a going concern sale of the business remain ongoing. Staff across the store network continue to be retained to assist the joint administrators with trading."

“However, it is with regret that the joint administrators today confirm 32 redundancies primarily at the Beales head office in Bournemouth. The joint administrators will be providing support to those affected over the coming days.”