Beales in Bedford set to close in eight weeks

In a joint statement from administrators of the chain - Will Wright and Steve Absolom from KPMG - it was revealed that "no deliverable offers" to buy the business have been received to date.

The administrators will now start the process of closing the remaining 11 stores - including Bedford - as well as the associated stock liquidation. In addition, a further 20 members of staff have been made redundant from the Beales head office in Bournemouth.

It's expected that the Bedford store, in Harpur Street and Silver Street, will close in eight weeks or sooner, depending on how quickly the stock is sold.

Employees across the stores will be kept on to assist with trading over those weeks.

According the KPMG, if a sale is still not achieved, the precise closure date for each store will vary, depending on trading performance and other factors encountered during the closure process.

Will Wright, joint administrator, said: “We’d like to thank all Beales employees for their wholehearted support and assistance during the administration process. We understand that the failure to achieve a sale so far will come as disappointing news, but can assure them that we will continue in our efforts to secure some form of positive outcome.”

Last month, Bedford Today revealed that the Bedford store was at risk of collapsePreviously Braggins, it has been in the town for 37 years.