LESS than two months after fears were expressed for the Bournemouth town centre Monsoon store, lettings signs have gone up outside the Old Christchurch Road premises.

Agents Green & Partners are asking for £175,000 a year for the accommodation at 41 Old Christchurch Road, which comprises 4,236 ground floor retail space, 3,000 sq foot of first floor retail space and more than 2,500 sq foot of ancillary space making it one of the largest stores in the immediate area.

According to Green & partners: “The premises are available on a new FRI (full repair and insurance) lease for a term of years to be agreed subject to upward-only rent reviews on a five yearly basis.”

It also points out that any new tenant would have Topshop and Topman, as well as Holland & Barrett, Ernest Jones, McDonalds, Pandora, YO! Sushi, Waterstones, Lloyds Bank and Hotter Shoes as near neighbours.

In April, the parent company of Monsoon and its sister store, Accessorize, brought in Deloitte to prepare plans for a possible company voluntary arrangement (CVA)

– the same process through which retailers New Look and Mothercare closed stores last year.

Accessorize has branches at the Dolphin Centre in Poole and Bournemouth’s Old Christchurch Road and the two brands are together at Castlepoint.

At the time a spokesman for Monsoon Accessorize said: “The UK retail trading environment is tough and we are continuing to look at options to reduce our overall costs as we restructure the business in the UK and internationally.

“We have made no secret of the fact that we have steadily reduced our store portfolio in recent years and shall continue to do so as leases expire.

“We are looking at options to accelerate these store closures.”

At the weekend, it was reported that owner Peter Simon had delayed the planned restructuring after the landlords for the Arcadia fashion group postponed a decision on a similar CVA plan.

The company has closed almost 40 stores in the last two years, as well as relocating and downsizing others.

Earlier this year, accounts for the holding company for Monsoon and Accessorize showed that the company made a loss before tax of £10.5million in the year to August 26 2017.

Monsoon was established in London 1973 by Mr Simon, a stock market trader . The first Accessorize store opened 11 years later next door to a branch of Monsoon in Covent Garden.