Boohoo buys Debenhams brand and website for £55m – but stores to close

Online fashion retailer Boohoo has bought the Debenhams brand and website for £55 million in a deal that will see the eponymous department store name survive, but the company’s remaining 118 stores close for good. The deal will see Debenhams products sold by Boohoo from early next year, allowing enough time for liquidators to continue closing the retailer’s sites once they are allowed to reopen after Covid-19 lockdown restrictions are lifted.

But with stores closing across the 242-year-old brand, it is unlikely many of the remaining 12,000 jobs will be saved.

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