Waitrose pulled the shutters down on its Bahrain business this week after just three years.

The grocer closed two stores in Amwaj Islands and Riffa in November last year and on Tuesday it shut the remaining four stores in Nuwaidrat, Barbar, Segaiya and Saar.

Waitrose was forced to shut the shops after its franchise partner Supa Save Bahrain WLL decided to pull out of the Middle Eastern nation.

But this week Supa Save Bahrain revealed it had collapsed into liquidation and said it would cease trading with immediate effect, according to Gulf Daily News.

Waitrose said in a statement: “Despite the efforts of all staff involved in operating the shops, sales did not reach levels required for a sustainable business.”

Waitrose added that its only other overseas stores in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where it operates seven shops, are “trading successfully” and have been unaffected by the Bahrain closures.

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