The beleaguered sports retailer, which yesterday confirmed rival JD Sports Fashion was contemplating an offer for the business, said it was reviewing its cost base after concluding that the group’s business plan, with the current store portfolio and cost base, was "unfundable".
JJB is seeking to raise £31.5 million from shareholders. This would give the business enough cash to continue as a going concern until March, the company said in a statement.
"Having reviewed the group’s options and likely funding requirement, the directors have concluded that the group’s business plan is unlikely to be fundable without revision and without a broader restructuring of the group’s portfolio of stores and cost base," it said.
JJB added that it was therefore developing a revised business plan that would be concluded shortly. It is considering a number of restructuring options including store closures – putting some of its 6,300 employees’ jobs at risk.
Meanwhile, Barclaycard yesterday told employees at three offices that there would be job losses. A total of 285 jobs could go from offices in Wavertree in Merseyside, Northampton and Teeside as the business moves more work to India as past of an operational efficiency programme. The company said it would try as far as possible to redeploy employees.
The news comes in a fortnight marked with job losses. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is to close a state-of-the-art research and development site in Kent – its largest research site in Europe – with the loss of some 2,400 jobs.
Meanwhile, Barclays is shedding 1,000 employees; Aberdeen, Walsall, Swansea and Lincolnshire councils announced potential job losses; Cambridge University and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust said they expected redundancies and 900 debt advisors at Citizens Advice received redundancy notices in the past seven days.
