Gone: the Plymouth businesses that we said goodbye to in 2018 – Plymouth Live

It’s been a tough year for many businesses and Plymouth has waved goodbye to some very famous names.

This city’s economy has been rocked by the carnage sweeping retail nationally, but aside from the list of store closures, it suffered two body blows when Wolf Minerals closed the Drakelands tungsten and tin mine, and when the German owners of manufacturer Barden said they would shut the city plant.

But Plymouth will bounce back, and in 2019 is looking forward to the openings of The Box history centre and museum, and the Drake Circus Leisure multiplex and restaurant complex.

There is much inward investment flooding in too, with cranes in the city centre and Millbay, for instance.

But for now, let’s just have a look back at the businesses Plymouth lost in 2019, though we’ve left out pubs and restaurants where the churn means many reopen shortly after closing.

Drakelands tungsten mine – dragged down by debt

Drakelands mine (Image: John Allen)

Plymouth’s tungsten mine lost £100million in just three years because it failed to produce enough metal, saw global prices hit the floor and was saddled with enormous debts.

There had been fears The Drakelands mine, at Hemerdon, could close as early as 2016, and so when specialty metals producer Wolf Minerals (UK) Ltd finally went into administration on October 10, 2018, with a debt mountain of about £70million, it seemed like the inevitable conclusion to a doomed venture.

The closure, which put more than 200 people out of work, sent shock waves through the Plymouth economy.

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Toys R Us – first major victim of high street carnage

Plymouth’s Toys R Us closed after the company folded in wake of setting up a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) (Image: Penny Cross)

It once bragged of having “millions of toys, all under one roof” but in March 2019, Toys R Us became the first major retail casualty of the year when it went out of business and shut its huge Western Approach branch.

It meant the end of 30 years of trading in Plymouth, and the vacant building was later bought by Plymouth City Council as part of a £30.5million transaction.

Asset and property management company FI Real Estate Management sold the Western Approach site, including its car park, as one of six former Toys R Us properties.

The Barden Corporation – Brexit blamed

The Barden factory is set to close down (Image: Penny Cross)

The huge Barden factory is to close after 51 years putting 400 jobs at risk as its parent firm moves production overseas – blaming Brexit.

Global automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler announced in October it is to close The Barden Corporation (UK) Ltd plant in Estover within the next two years, just a year after revealing it would invest £15million into the factory.

The Plymouth operation produces precision bearings for cars, aircraft, the nuclear industry, missiles and satellites. But its German owner has announced a huge restructuring which will see it close its bases in Plymouth and Llanelli, merge logistics centres in Hereford and Sutton Coldfield, but retain a factory in Sheffield.

The company said: “The uncertainty surrounding Brexit was one factor amongst others in the analysis of the UK market.”

Evans – part of Sir Philip Green’s downsizing plan

Evans is closing in Plymouth city centre (Image: Penny Cross / Plymouth Live)

Plymouth is to lose another fashion retailer after the lease for its Evans store was put on the market and staff told the outlet is to close.

The shop, in upper New George Street is selling off its last items and preparing for closure. The store is part of controversial tycoon Sir Philip Green’s troubled Arcadia retail empire.

The 66-year-old mogul has been reported to have plans to slim down his estate by closing poorly performing shops when their leases expire. A sign marketing the Plymouth Evans store appeared on its fascia along with a notice saying “closing down sale, everything must go”.

A new lease is being advertised for the two-storey building, which has a 2017 rateable value of £125,000.

Liquidations and administrations

Payout threatened by liquidation
Property developer banned
Tungsten mine closes
Clothing chain’s troubles

Tons of Tiles – struggled to pay debts

The closed Tons of Tiles base at Estover

At least 80 people were owed cash or goods from the collapse of online retailer Tons of Tiles just before Christmas 2018. The firm, which stopped trading in December 2018, will be formerly liquidated in early January 2019. All staff lost their jobs.

Tons of Tiles, run by husband-and-wife directors Mark and Claire Pitman, has struggled for several years and went into a creditors voluntary arrangement (CVA) in 2015, owing about £600,000.

But despite hammering out a deal with people it owed money too, the company was still unable to pay its debts and insolvency practitioner Begbies Traynor was instructed to put the company, which operated out of Drake Mill Business Park, into liquidation.

Maplin – hammered by weak pound

Plymouth’s Maplin store has closed (Image: Penny Cross)

Plymouth’s Maplin store closed in June 2018 after selling off everything inside.

The large outlet, in Cornwall Street, was one of more than 200 around the country that was doomed when the electrical goods retailer went into administration in February 2018.

A closing down sale was started in the Plymouth store in April, with window signs reading “store closing” and “everything must go”, and on Saturday, June 9, it finally sold the last items and put up the shutters.

Now the unit is sitting empty and forlorn, with a sign saying: “This store is now closed, the management and staff thank you for your custom”.

Maplin has struggled to compete against rivals and online retailers.

The 40-year-old firm complained of being hit by the impact of the Brexit-enfeebled pound, a weak consumer environment and the withdrawal of credit insurance.

Gone – restaurants and cafes that closed in 2018

Mount Wise cafe shuts
Goodbye Chloe’s
Farewell Woolwell Fish Bar
City centre cafe closes

Plymouth Studio School – criticised by Ofsted

Plymouth Studio School (Image: Penny Cross)

The troubled £4.2million Plymouth Studio School closed just three years after opening, following criticism from Ofsted.

School heads said that following discussions with the Regional Schools Commissioner’s (RSC) office and the Department for Education, a decision was made to shut the school, which was set up on land neighbouring Plymouth Marjon University to train the sports stars of tomorrow.

The school officially shut in September 2018.

Retail woes

Saltrock – Plymouth store failed to survive rescue buy-out

The Saltrock store in Plymouth (Image: Google)

The Plymouth and Exeter branches of fashion chain Saltrock Surfwear closed with staff losing their jobs after the firm, run by Plymouth Argyle supremo James Brent, went into administration and was taken over by another brand.

The company went into administration on Friday, August 17, and was immediately bought out by the national Crew Clothing Co Group.

But five of the 30-strong chain were instantly closed with 29 staff being made redundant.

The list included the stores in Plymouth’s Old Town Street and Exeter’s High Street, along with those in Bridgend, Street and Swansea.

PricewaterhouseCoopers – accountants now cover city from Bristol

PwC is based in Princess Court, Princess Street, Plymouth

The multi-billion pound international company pulled out of Plymouth after 37 years in the city – taking 41 jobs with it.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the second largest professional services firm in the world and one of the “big four” auditors has shut its Plymouth office in Princess Street and is now covering the city from Bristol.

The firm stressed it has not “withdrawn from Plymouth or from our clients” but said the closure was part of a programme of consolidation of regional offices which were coming to the end of their leases.

PwC’s exit from Plymouth, where it has had an office since 1981, came just three years after it carried out a major revamp of its Princess Street base.

Fashion in the news

John Brown closes
Footasylum makes loss
American Golf shuts stores
Coast in trouble

Regatta – future unclear for closing retailer

Plymouth’s Regatta store is staging a closing down sale (Image: Penny Cross)

The Plymouth city centre clothing retailer has been staging a huge sale as it prepares to close down – but possibly move into a nearby department store.

Outdoor clobber chain Regatta is quitting its leased outlet in upper New George Street has been selling everything inside at knock-down prices.

The company, Britain’s biggest outdoor clothing enterprise, said it is not struggling but is leaving the unit because landlord British Land has other, as yet unrevealed, plans for the building.

Regatta bosses are understood to be in talks about moving into the Debenhams department store a few metres down the road.

Gala Bingo – number up for one of its two outlets

Reel Cinema and Gala Bingo, Derrys Cross

One of Plymouth’s most popular bingo halls closed in August 2018, when Gala Bingo called out for the last time at Derrys Cross.

The firm said its lease had expired and the site is due to be redeveloped. Structured House Group has confirmed it is working on plans for the building, which also houses Reel Cinema and restaurant Lorenzos.

But Gala’s Charles Cross club continued to offer customers a “fantastic bingo experience”.

Poundworld – no way out for discount retailer

Plymouth Poundworld’s ‘closing down sale’ (Image: Penny Cross)

Plymouth’s Poundworld store has closed down, its shelves are empty and a sign is thanking customers for their business.

The store, on the corner of Armada Way and New George Street, became the latest casualty in a retail meltdown which has bedeviled high streets up and down the country and has now seen the budget goods chain close all 335 outlets with the loss of 2,339 jobs.

The large Plymouth branch, which employed about 30 people, is part of a group of 40 Poundworld units which shut in a week leading to 531 redundancies.

That came after 105 stores shut earlier in July, affecting about 1,200 jobs, with administrators Deloitte LLP saying the remaining outlets would be all boarded up by August 10.

The pound-shop sector had been hammered with rising costs and low consumer spending, and with products being sold so cheaply it has meant there is no escape route via a re-pricing policy.

Hush – crippled by taxation, rents and nearby closures

Inside Hush, the Old Town Street cafe which has now closed (Image: Tim Tozer)

A Plymouth city centre coffee shop closed after 20 years blaming “crippling” taxes, “onerous” rents, and the loss of nearby businesses and office workers.

Hush had been a feature on Old Town Street for two decades, serving hot and cold drinks, freshly cut sandwiches, toasties, wraps and jacket potatoes.

But owners Tim and Christina Tozer decided to call it a day, and shut the outlet, thanking regulars for their custom but stressing they couldn’t remain in business.

They said changes in the area, including shutting the Post Office and coach station to make way for the Turtle Bay restaurant and new Drake Circus Leisure cinema complex, hadn’t favoured them.

Plymouth Arts Centre – centre closes but cinema moves on

The centre is nationally acclaimed for contemporary art, independent cinema and creative learning (Image: Penny Cross)

The arts centre on Looe Street came under intense pressure when Arts Council England withdrew funding in early 2018.

As a result, the cinema at the centre is to relocate and double in size at Plymouth College of Art. The 118-seat auditorium at the college is due to open to the public on January 10, 2019.

The arts centre board said it decided to sell the Arts Centre’s Looe Street building because resources are not in place to continue to deliver both the cinema and the visual arts programme.

So trustees reached the “reluctant and unavoidable decision” to halt the visual arts programme. PAC Home, the centre’s highly regarded network of artists and arts professionals, is developing plans to continue independently.

Gateway Retail Park – the story

Mothercare relocates
Construction dates revealed
Completion date named
Development sold

Mothercare and Early Learning Centre – out of town move

The former Mothercare store in Drakes Circus

Mothercare closed its Plymouth city centre outlet – but opened a new out-of-town superstore at the £23million Gateway Retail Park.

Mothercare is among many retailers stung by the current high street woes which have seen famous names close or downscale in the past year, under attack from online sales and higher costs and taxes.

The company announced a loss of £6.2million and plans to sell its headquarters in a bid to further reduce debt, which now stands at £21.5million. It is battling a year-on-year like-for-like sales decline of 11.1 per cent and is ahead of schedule in its plan to close stores, including one in Exeter, as part of a £19million cost-saving exercise.

So the Drake Circus Shopping Centre Mothercare and the Early Learning Centre in Cornwall Street, closed. But 17 staff relocated to the new Marsh Mills store, augmented by another 11 workers.

Retail woes: the stores affected by the shopping crisis

Inside the doomed Plymouth branch of Toys R Us

The UK’s retail sector is quaking as inflation and taxes mount and consumer spending slips. Plymouth is not immune. These are the firms that have caught a cold, or are beyond life support, so far in 2018:

Toys R Us – The advertising jingle sang of toys in their millions, all under one roof, but the huge outlet in Western Approach is now empty as the toy store chain became the first big casualty of the UK’s retail meltdown. All Toys R Us stores nationwide are now closed or closing.

Bargain Booze – The off-licence chain Bargain Booze went into administration in April 2018 following a warning that earnings would be £5.2million less than expected. The chain, which has five outlets in Plymouth and another in Saltash, warned earnings for this financial year would be “below current market expectations”. But administrators were able offload the retail division to food wholesaler Bestway in a £7million deal.

Debenhams – Beleaguered Debenhams could shut floors in its Plymouth department store as it looks at solutions to the retail meltdown which has seen its pre-tax profits slump by 84 per cent and insurers cut back on suppliers’ credit cover. The chain is understood to be looking to downsize at least 30 stores blaming “profound change” in shopping habits for woes.

House of Fraser – Troubled department store chain House of Fraser announced it will shut storeswhen a Company Voluntary Agreement was accepted by creditors on June 22, 2018. It initially said just 18 outlets would still be trading, but it has since “saved” three stores, after being taken over by Sport Direct honcho Mike Ashley, including Plymouth’s. The company made a £43.9million loss in 2017 – blaming Brexit, terrorist attacks and increased online competition. Sales fell from £840.9million to £787.8million in 2017 – a drop of 6.3 per cent.

New Look – The budget retailer has had to weighs up “options” amid dismal sales figures and in April 2018 announced it could close 100 stores putting 1,500 jobs at ris. Private equity-owned Poundworld, which has a huge Plymouth store in New George Street, said it is considering its future as speculation mounts that it will opt to restructure the business.

Marks & Spencer – Retail bellwether Marks & Spencer, which has a huge store in Plymouth city centre, is closing 100 of its biggest stores, about a third of all those selling clothes and homeware, by 2022 after it reported a 62.1 per cent fall in pre-tax profit to £66.8million in the year to March 31, 2018.

Mothercare – The baby and maternity products chain issued a profits warning after like-for-like sales fell by 7.2 per cent during the 12 weeks to December 30, 2017. Mothercare has now decided to move out of Drake Circus mall, but will relocate to a unit more than double the size at the under-construction Plymouth Gateway Retail Park at Marsh Mills. The retailer is looking to shut anything up to more than 50 stores and its March 2018 trading update revealed total UK sales were down 5.6 per cent in the 12 weeks to March 24, compared with the same period in 2017.

Carpetright – The troubled retailer has been floored by painful losses and is preparing to close even more stores – and said things will get worse after Brexit. For the 26 weeks to October 27, 2019, the group made a loss before tax of £11.7million. Underlying earnings swung to a loss of £1.7million compared with a profit of £8.6million for the same time in 2017. Carpetright also said it was braced for a damaging dip in consumer spending and confidence after Brexit. In March 2018 it shut three Devon stores, but kept the two in Plymouth open.

Maplin – Electrical goods retailer Maplin collapsed into administration in February 2018 putting jobs at risk. The company, which employed 2,500 people in the UK and had a large store in Plymouth’s Cornwall Street, said the capital needed to prop up the business – and shield it against tough trading conditions – had proved “impossible to raise”. The store had a huge closing down sale in April 2018 and finally shut in Plymouth in on June 11. All stores in the group are expected to be shut by July.

Poundworld – The budget retailer went into administration in June 2018 after revealing dismal sales figures, putting 5,100 jobs at risk. Private equity-owned Poundworld shut its huge Plymouth store in New George Street in July 2018 after staging a “closing down sale”.

Laura Ashley – Womenswear and home furnishings retailer Laura Ashley is to close stores after seeing annual profits plummet to just £100,000. The group – which owns 160 stores across the UK including in Plymouth, Exeter, Barnstaple and Truro – saw statutory pre-tax profits fall from £6.3million a year earlier as retail like-for-like sales slid 0.4 per cent amid “difficult” trading conditions..

H&M – Fashion giant H&M has said it is braced for further sales falls across its stores in 2018, including its Plymouth outlet in Drake Circus Shopping Centre.

Poundstretcher – Credit insurers aretightening terms for suppliers to Poundstretcher, a move which is generally seen as an indicator of concerns a retailer is about to go bust. Poundstretcher, which has a huge outlet at Plymouth’s Friary Retail Park, in Exeter Street, saw a £3.4million profit turn into a £3.5million loss in 2017.

Moss Bros – The men’s outfitters made a £1.7million pre tax loss for first six months of 2018 – and blamed the World Cup

The company – which has stores in Plymouth, Exeter, Falmouth and Truro – has warned over profits after hot summer weather and the World Cup “distraction” pushed the menswear chain’s profits into the red. Earnings show the retailer swung to a pre-tax loss of £1.7million for the six months to July 28, having posted a profit of £3.9million in the same period last year. The retailer said it was knocked by £1.2million in store impairments, in light of a “small number of underperforming stores“, and took a further £800,000 hit amid “reorganisation and employee-related costs”.

Game Digital – Profits at Game, which has two stores in Plymouth city centre, nosedived by more than a quarter – amid a tough market for consoles – leaving the retailer looking to revive its fortunes through the fast-rising e-sports sector.

Homebase – There are fears Homebase stores throughout the South West could be dragged into a second wave of closures that could see up to 40 of the DIY outlets shut – putting hundreds of jobs at risk. The DIY chain, which has 21 outles in the West Country including Plymouth, is sounding out advisers for a potential Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA), having already closed 17 outlets.

Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Evans and Wallis – In May 2018 Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group reported profits dipped by 42 per cent from £215.2million to £124.1million and sales fell 5.6 per cent in the year to August 26, 2017, sliding from £2.01billion to £1.91billion.

Sports Direct – Bargain tracksuit and trainer retailer Sports Direct blamed an £85million hit from its stake in Debenhams for dragging full-year profits down 72.5 per cent. The chain, which has a huge outlet in New George Street, Plymouth, said pre-tax profits plunged to £77.5million in the year to April 29, 2018 – from £281.6million a year earlier.

McColl’s – Convenience store operator McColl’s has seen pre-tax profits nearly halve to £2.3 million in just six months during one of the “most challenging” period in the chain’s history. The firm, which has more than 10 outlets in the Plymouth area, saw its surplus drop from £4.5 million during the same period last year. The company blamed the decline, for the 26 weeks to May 27, 2018, in part on the collapse of wholesaler Palmer & Harvey, which disrupted its supply chain. It also impacted McColl’s like-for-like sales which fell 2.7 per cent in the first half of the year.

Saltrock Surfwear – The Plymouth and Exeter branches of the fashion chain were among five that closed, with 29 staff losing their jobs, after the firm went into administration and was instantly taken over by the national Crew Clothing Co Group. Saltrock was started in the 1980s but taken over by Plymouth Argyle’s departing chairman James Brent’s company in 2012.

Footasylum – Streetwear store Footasylum swung to a £2.5million half-year loss bemoaning a challenging trading environment.The premium sports chain, which opened in the mid-tier at Drake Circus Shopping Centre in 2016, has posted a pre-tax loss of £2.5million in the 26 weeks to August 25, 2018, compared with a £1.7million profit in the same period in 2017.

Paperchase – Stationery chain Paperchase suffered a mammoth fall in profits and had its credit insurance cover slashed in September 2018. The company, which has a flagship store in Plymouth’s Drake Circus Shopping Centre, is coming under mounting pressure after one of its main credit insurers reduced cover following the slump in profits.

Superdry – Fashion chain Superdry has estimated profits will take a £10million hit and is blaming the weather – again.

The chain – which has outlets in Exeter, Truro, Newquay, St Ives and Plymouth’s Drake Circus Shopping Centre – issued a profit warning after it said “unseasonably hot weather” had impacted its autumn and winter sales. Earlier in 2018 it complained the Beast from the East snowstorm had hit sales.

American Golf – The Plymouth and Exeter branches of huge sports retailer American Golf will stay open after a late rescue package saved the company – though the troubled firm is shutting outlets across the country. Customer orders and gift cards are also protected after Europe’s largest golf retailer was rescued from collapse in a deal which safeguards 900 jobs and will keep open the store at Plymouth Golf Centre, Elburton, and Exeter’s at Bishops Court Retail Park in Sidmouth Road.

Bonmarché – The budget women’s fashion chain saw profits tank dramatically. The company – which has branches across the South West including Plymouth’s New George Street – watched at profits were nearly cut in half in the first six months of 2018 as weak consumer sentiment and lower footfall stung the struggling retailer.

B&Q – DIY giant B&Q is facing woe after seeing sales tank. The company’s owner, Kingfisher, warned there was “no quick fix” to its problems as it posted a slump in sales at the DIY chain in November 2018, and said it will exit its business in Russia, Spain and Portugal to focus on its core markets. New figures show B&Q in the UK saw a 2.9 per cent fall in like-for-like sales in the three months to October 31, 2018.

HMV – Music and movies retailer HMV went into administration for the second time in just six years in December 2018 putting 2,200 jobs at risk and the future of three key stores in the South West in jeopardy. The chain has confirmed it appointed administrators following a weak Christmas trading period. The executive chairman of HMV said a huge slump in the UK’s CD and DVD market made its situation “unsustainable”. It blamed a “tsunami of challenges” facing the UK retail sector, and changing behaviour from customers.

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Gone: the Plymouth businesses that we said goodbye to in 2018 – Plymouth Live

12/30/18

Drakelands tungsten mine – dragged down by debt