Almost 700 off-licence jobs to go

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/8383377.stm

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The off-licence chain which trades as Threshers, Wine Rack, The Local, Haddows, Bottoms Up and Victoria Wine is closing 128 shops in Scotland.

First Quench owns 219 off-licences across Scotland but went into administration at the end of October.

The shops, which are spread across the country, will all close before Christmas with 688 redundancies.

Across the UK, 391 stores will shut, resulting in 2,140 redundancies, though the Wine Rack brand has been sold.

'Stock running low'

Joint administrator Richard Fleming said: "Unfortunately, despite the initial high level of interest, it remains difficult for buyers to complete deals in the current tough market.

"However, we are still in talks regarding the sale of over 100 stores and hope to be able to make a further announcement about this shortly.

"We also remain hopeful that some of the 391 stores announced today might still be sold as going concerns before the closure process is completed, but with stock now running low in the remaining stores it has been necessary to make plans to close them."

The administrators have announced two sales of parts of the business: the sale of 13 stores and the Wine Rack brand to Venus Wine & Spirits Merchants Plc and the sale of eight stores to SEP Properties Ltd.

The chains of small off-licences have faced growing competition from supermarkets and bulk sales, and recession has accelerated their decline.