Tees jobs safe
AROUND 50 Teesside jobs have been safeguarded after a buyer stepped forward to rescue part of the failed value clothing retailer, Ethel Austin.
Stores in Middlesbrough’s Captain Cook Square, Ormesby, Hartlepool, Redcar and Billingham are among 90 outlets bought by Life & Style Retail Ltd, a new company set up by Ethel Austin’s former owner Elaine McPherson.
The move will safeguard almost 1,200 jobs.
However, a buyer has not yet been found for the remaining 41 stores scheduled to close during the next two weeks - including the outlet on Stockton High Street.
Lynn Stainsby, manager of Middlesbrough’s Captain Cook Square, said: “We’re happy on behalf of the staff who have worked so hard at the store that the uncertainty has been ended.”
Liverpool-based Ethel Austin and its sister homewares chain Au Naturale fell into administration for the second time in two years in February, blaming poor performance on a disastrous New Year sales season.
Although Au Naturale remains unaffected by yesterday’s announcements, joint administrator MCR said it expected to complete a sale of the business “shortly”.
