Off-licences to close

Two more off-licences owned by the First Quench group in Bath are to shut after the firm went into administration.

The Wine Rack store at Chelsea Road in Lower Weston and the Threshers branch at Terrace Walk will close in a third phase of shutdowns announced by the administrator KPMG.

The two stores will close between December 1 and 20 along with 389 other branches in a move which will lead to 2,140 job losses.

The group also owned The Local, Haddows, Bottoms Up and Victoria Wine stores and has been put up for sale by KPMG.

Richard Fleming, the accountancy firm's UK head of restructuring and joint administrator, said: "Unfortunately, despite the initial high level of interest, it remains difficult for buyers to complete deals in the current tough market."

He said they were in talks over the sale of another 100 stores and that it might yet be possible for some of the doomed shops to be sold as well.

Two stores in Bath – Threshers at Bathwick Hill and Local at Mount Road – have already fallen victim to the crisis, along with the Wine Rack store in High Street in Keynsham.