Some very sad news for UK retailer Toys ‘R’ Us and their many thousands of employees….
All Toys R Us stores in the UK are to close, with no buyer stepping forward to acquire the business.
Moorfields, the administrator called in last month to handle the company’s insolvency, informed staff today that more than 3000 jobs will be lost with the closure of 105 retail locations.
Simon Thomas, joint administrator at Moorfields, said the corporate recovery specialist’s attempts to secure a buyer for parts of the Toys R Us business had “attracted some interest” but ultimately failed to find a suitor able to submit a formal offer by deadline.
“It is therefore with great regret that we have made the difficult decision to make a number of positions redundant at the company’s head office in Maidenhead,” he added.
Today, 67 head office staff were let go.
Tomorrow will see the doors shut on any extant Toys R Us stores previously marked for closure. From Thursday, 25 stores will have been shut nationwide since the retailer proposed a CVA in December 2017.
Moorfields confirmed those remaining 75 Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores will stay open until further notice, and will extend its nationwide clearance sales offering toys at discounted prices.
Mr. Thomas advised shoppers to take advantage of the special offers “while stock levels remain high”.
The stricken retailer’s US parent arm is still in talks with investors and lenders as it continues to fend off liquidation.
This will change the landscape of toy buying in the UK forever. We’ve been fortunate to work with the company over the last 10 years and we will miss them. We wish those seeking new jobs the very best of luck.
