Discount giant Poundland is set to shut 80 stores across the UK following the Steinhoff takeover.
Just two months after the difficult £597 million acquisition by Steinhoff, which saw numerous offers and an extended bidding process, Poundland is now set to close a large portion of its 900-store retail estate.
The takeover followed Poundland’s similarly troubled £50 million acquisition of the 99p Stores chain, which was approved in September 2015 after a six-month investigation.
This half year delay was blamed on 99p Stores loss of credit insurance, causing its stock levels to crash. Subsequently this led to Poundland’s 84% decline profits that year.
These store closures could be to limit duplicate stores, as last year’s merger saw 235 99p Stores rebranded in highstreets across the nation.
This is the first reduction of retail stores since the recession, where it established it presence by moving into the growing number of vacated retail locations.
