Department store chain Debenhams has confirmed the closure of a further three stores after failing to agree to terms with institutional landlord Intu.
The stores to close will be in the Intu Metrocentre, Newcastle, Milton Keynes and Watford. A spokesman for the retailer said it had been “unable to agree terms” with the landlord ahead of its scheduled reopening date next Monday.
He said: “Sadly we have been unable to agree terms with the landlord. As a result, these stores will not be reopening in line with the rest of the chain next week. We greatly regret the effect on our colleagues, who have served our customers with commitment and dedication. Our customers can continue to shop with us online at debenhams.com or at other local stores from next week.”
Since collapsing into administration for the second time in a year in December, the closure of the three Intu sites brings the total number of permanent closures from Debenhams to 20 across the UK.
Last week, the retailer said it would reopen 50 stores on or in the immediate week after June 15, focusing first on its stores in Northern Ireland before reopening in England.
It said stores in Scotland and Wales will remain closed while it waits for devolved government advice on non-essential retail restrictions.
Today’s news will come as a blow to embattled landlord Intu. Over the weekend, it was reported that Intu was lining up KPMG to handle a possible insolvency process as it seeks to convince banks to agree to freeze its £4.5bn debt pile that has been spiralling.
The property group has asked lenders for a standstill on banking covenant tests and debt repayments until the end of next year.
Intu forecasted that it would collect just £310m of rent on the next quarterly rent day at the end of June, compared with £491.6m last year. This followed it receiving less than a third of the expected rent for its March quarter.
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