Borders makes majority of head office staff redundant

36 employees based at the bookseller’s head office on Charing Cross Road, London, have been made redundant. Store staff have not been affected by the redundancies.

Phil Duffy, partner at administrator MCR said: “Following our appointment as administrators we have undertaken a review of the company’s business and operations in the context of an administration and consequently identified a number of positions that have become redundant.

“This in no way impacts the business at a store level and I can confirm that no redundancies have been made in-store,” he added.

Borders began closing down Sales at the weekend.

Duffy said: “We are now pursuing parallel administration strategies – continuing to seek a purchaser for all or some of the company’s stores whilst conducting store closing down Sales.”

He added: “Considerable interest has been expressed either in the business and/or certain stores and this interest is actively being pursued by MCR.”

Borders had found it difficult to compete with online booksellers such as Amazon, and supermarkets encroaching on its patch and undercutting its prices. Last year it was also hit by the withdrawal of some of its credit insurance.

Borders is thought to have been talking to HMV, owner of the Waterstone’s chain, about a deal. The week before it hit the wall, talks with WH Smith regarding buying some of its stores collapsed.