Job losses loom for Debenhams chain

By The Newsroom
Published 25th Oct 2018, 10:03 BST
Updated 25th Oct 2018, 10:08 BST
Debenham department store on Parliament Street in Harrogate.Debenham department store on Parliament Street in Harrogate.
Debenham department store on Parliament Street in Harrogate.
For Harrogate shoppers - and staff members - anxious about the future of Debenhams, there is bad news and slightly better news.

Firstly, the famous department store chain announced today it had made record losses and wss planning to close up to 50 stores.

The losses have been caused not by a slump in profits, its boss Sergio Bucher said. They have been caused by a one-off write-downs of £512.4m, linked to store and lease provisions.

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Talking to the BBC, Mr Bucher said: "As we said in September, we generated £160m of operating cash, we generated £33m in profit before tax."In the year to September the department store group lost £491.5m, against profits of £59m the year before.