700 Allders staff to go

Nearly 700 Allders staff have been made redundant. A statement from administrator Kroll disclosed that 461 store staff will go, as well as a further 209 employees working in headquarters and logistics operations.

Croydon will be the hardest hit of the 45 stores, with not only the highest proportion of staff on the chopping block - 76 employees - but headquarters staff as well. Chelmsford, Crawley, Kingston and Reading were the only stores to escape redundancies.

In a statement, Kroll administrators Andrew Pepper and Alastair Beveridge said: 'It was necessary to reduce the level of employment to meet the needs of each individual store. These reductions have been made across the entire store portfolio. The operational requirements at Allders headquarters had to be reconsidered by the administrators in the absence of any viable bid for the entire group.'

Talks are ongoing with bidders interested in taking over 34 Allders shops. Administrators have agreed ongoing contributions to Allders' pension scheme of£58,150 a month until at least June.