Phones 4u is to close the rest of its 362 stores
PHONES 4u’s remaining 362 high street stores across Britain will be permanently closed and the 1,697 staff in those stores will be made redundant, administrator PwC announced last night after failing to find a buyer for the shops.
Britain’s largest mobile network operator EE bought 58 Phones 4u stores in a £2.5m deal earlier in the day, taking the total count of Phones 4u stores sold off to 198.
Dixons Carphone could also launch a bid to buy around 50 stores today, according to Sky News. The firm has already purchased 160 concessions which operate within its stores, taking on 800 staff.
Phones 4u collapsed last week after EE, its last remaining network partner, terminated its distribution agreement shortly after Vodafone had done the same.
“It is with much regret that we have today made the difficult decision to close a large number of stores,” said PwC partner and joint administrator Rob Hunt on the news.“It is a very sad day for the staff working at those locations and our thoughts are with them.”
On Friday, Vodafone announced it had agreed the purchase of 140 Phones 4u stores, saving 887 jobs.