Utility group ScottishPower today said it would close part of its retail business, which sells electrical appliances, in a move which could see 1,200 jobs go around the UK.
ScottishPower, said it was selling part of the business to electrical retailer Powerhouse Retail, for an undisclosed sum, and would close the remainder of the operation, as part of its strategy of focusing on energy. The group said it had worked hard to find a solution that would safeguard as many jobs as possible.
Under the deal, the majority of its 156 shops situated around the UK will be transferred to Powerhouse, with the rest closed. A spokesman for Glasgow-based ScottishPower said about 1,500 of the 2,700 staff employed in the retailing arm would keep their jobs, while the rest would go.
Powerhouse, which has 120 shops around the UK, stocks appliances including cookers, dishwashers and digital widescreen televisions.
EGi News 19/06/01
