Express & Star

West Midlands Carpetright shops to shut, jobs axed after chain sold to Tapi in rescue deal

Seven Carpetright stores in the West Midlands are shutting with dozens of jobs axed after the chain was sold.

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Carpetright has been bought in a rescue deal by rival Tapi Carpets, but more than 200 stores are to shut and 1,018 jobs have been cut across the country.

Redundancies were made with immediate effect on Monday afternoon. Customers with orders at the closed stores face a loss and have been advised to contact their card provider for advice.

It is another big blow to the retail economy in the region.

Flooring retailer Tapi, which has stores in Cannock, Wolverhampton and Telford, has agreed to buy the Carpetright brand, intellectual property, 54 stores and two warehouses in a pre-pack administration deal.

The deal will also save 308 current jobs at Carpetright, but stores in Cannock, Oldbury, Oswestry, Shrewsbury, Telford, Wednesbury and Wolverhampton are not on the list of those bought by Tapi.

In the West Midlands only stores in Erdington, Birmingham; Airport Retail Park, Coventry and Hereford have been bought.

The head office in Purfleet, Essex is not part of the deal.

Carpetright filed a notice to appoint administrators earlier this month, after struggling in the face of weaker demand and a major cyber attack in April.

The company employed 1,898 people and operated 273 stores across the UK before entering insolvency.