B&Q to close five stores in Northern Ireland

Five B&Q stores in Northern Ireland are to close, with the loss of about 300 jobs.

It had previously been announced that branches at Buncrana Road in Londonderry and Belfast's Boucher Road were to close.

Now it has been confirmed that branches at Sprucefield, Ballymena and Craigavon will also shut.

B&Q confirmed later on Tuesday that about 300 jobs would be affected.

Diarmuid Walsh, a divisional director for B&Q, said staff were disappointed at the news

Kingfisher, the company which owns B&Q, is undergoing a major restructuring.

As a result, it is closing 60 stores across the UK.

Kingfisher is expanding its Screwfix DIY chain, so there may be some opportunity for redeployment.

In a statement, B&Q said that following a review of retail space requirements in Northern Ireland, it proposed to move "its business to four store locations in Northern Ireland by January 2017, with the closure of five stores".

It said the decision to reshape the store network had "not been taken lightly" and B&Q would "endeavour to find positions for as many employees who are affected by the change as possible, either at the four remaining B&Q stores or elsewhere in the Kingfisher Group, such as at Screwfix".

It said B&Q was in discussion with other retailers about the future of the store locations and job opportunities.

Source : BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-34393193