POUNDLAND stores are facing closures around the UK, with one popular branch shutting down for good today.
Owner of the budget chain, Pepco Group, confirmed the closure of one its popular stores for today, and a number of others this month.
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The Sun confirmed that Poundland’s branch in the Belle Valle shopping centre in Liverpool will no longer operate from today.
A spokesperson revealed the decision came after a notice on the store’s lease was received.
They said: “We know how disappointing this will be to customers and colleagues.
“Whenever we have to close a store in these circumstances, we do all we can to look for other opportunities for colleagues and that work is now underway.
“We’d like to thank customers at Belle Vale for their support – and look forward to welcoming them at our other stores across Merseyside.”
The Polish company Pepco Group is understood to be offloading Poundland from its business.
The news came as a major blow to local residents in Liverpool, with upset shoppers taking to social media to share their disappointment.
Some blamed “greedy landlords”, and others have suggested there would be “hardly anything” left in the shopping centre after this decision.
One user wrote: “It is wrong that some of the workers there have been loyal workers for years.”
Poundland is not the only retail closure residents of Liverpool have been hit by recently.
Harvey Nichols also pulled the shutters on its three-floor Beauty Bazaar located at town’s ONE complex last month.
The luxury department store closed down this branch for good in mid-April after a decade of operating.
A number of other Poundland branches are set to close around the country this month.
One store already shut down in Clapham Junction last Friday May 2.
On Thursday May 8, the store in Gravesend’s St George’s Centre is also set to close.
News of this closure also prompted dismay from locals, with one who wrote: “What a dump Gravesend has become.”
Another added: “”All the decent shops have gone.”
A third continued: “The town has lost so many shops and market used to be bustling now dying bit by bit, be a ghost town.”
A Poundland spokesperson confirmed: “It’s correct we’ve sadly decided to close our St George’s centre store on 8 May.
“Our Imperial retail park store is only around half a mile away and we look forward to continuing to welcome shoppers there.”
They added: “We operate from over 800 locations across the UK and Ireland and with so many outlets, it will be no surprise that we constantly review our store portfolio as leases expire or come up for renewal.
“Whenever we decide to close a store, we do all we can to look for other opportunities for colleagues and that work is now underway.”
On top of that, Poundland is preparing to close its store in Brackla, Wales, on May 24.