Redundancies made at Joules headquarters in Harborough

Redundancies have been made at Joules headquarters in Harborough after the company went into administration.

There are some 400 people employed at the Rockingham Road site, and it is believed 14 senior staff members have been made redundant.

A consultation with others employed at the site is continuing.

A spokeswoman for the joint administrators said: “While we continue to trade the business as a going concern, it is with regret that the joint administrators can confirm that a limited number of redundancies have been made at the company’s head office. A wider consultation process for employees remains ongoing, as is typical during an administration process.

“We continue to explore the significant number of expressions of interest that we have received since our appointment, and remain optimistic about securing a future for the business.”

The Joules Group includes 132 Joules stores with an online business, and also runs the online-only Garden Trading Company. It’s distribution centre is in Corby.

There is understood to be interest in the business and administrators say they are hopeful of securing its future.

Joules’ shops and online store will remain open while options for the business are assessed, including it being sold as a going concern.

Administrator Will Wright from Interpath Advisory said last week: “Since the group’s announcement, we have had an overwhelming amount of interest from interested parties. We will be working hard over the days ahead to assess this interest, but at this stage we are optimistic that we will be able to secure a future for this great British brand.”