Beales store in Winchester to close after 24 years

The store at Winchester was one of 14 which Beales said would not be viable unless the rent was drastically reduced.

It won backing from its creditors for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) to save off going into administration.

But signs have gone up in the Winchester branch reading “Closing down sales – everything must go”.

The store will close on August 1.

The store in Winchester’s Brooks Centre is the flagship tenant there and has traded since the centre opened in 1992.

Beales chairman Stuart Lyons said: “The Winchester store has been making heavy losses because of its high rent.  

"We very much regret having to close it, but the closure is consistent with the policies we have announced for restoring the finances of the Beales group and protecting our flagship stores, such as Bournemouth and Poole.”

Beales was founded in 1881 on the site of its Bournemouth store.

The company, which has 29 stores across the country, was bought last year for just £1.2million by investor Andrew Perloff. It made pre-tax losses of £4.6m in the year ending November 2014.

Mr Perloff appointed Stuart Lyons, who has led a “Back to Beales” campaign to encourage customers to return.

But the company said it needed to cut rents on 14 sites – not including the Bournemouth or Poole stores – which were “dragging the group down”. The alternative would “very likely” be administration.

Beales proposed paying 30 per cent of the rent due on the shops in question for 10 months while it renegotiated. Its proposal for a CVA was backed by 90 per cent of the votes cast at a creditors’ meeting in March.

Beales is also currently fighting for the future of its landmark Bournemouth store.

Landlords want to turn the top three storeys of the Old Christchurch Road building into 76 flats, in a move being vigorously opposed by the department store. Bournemouth council is currently considering comments on the application.