Bad news – Steamer Trading Cookshop in Chester city centre is holding a closing down sale.
Good news – it will reopen soon as a ProCook outlet.
The Steamer Trading Cookshop chain was sold to the rival houseware retailer after it went into administration earlier this year.
Administrators KPMG said that an agreement had been reached to sell 27 of Steamer Trading’s 38 stores ‘and the majority of the business and assets’ to ProCook.
This included the Chester branch in Bridge Street but also outlets including Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Guildford, Harrogate, Hereford, Southampton and Truro.
KPMG added: “A further store – trading under the Divertimenti brand in Knightsbridge – has been acquired by Divertimenti Limited (Steamer Trading Cookshop founder Ben Phillips has bought this store). Both deals see 332 jobs being secured.
"There were 10 underperforming stores which were not part of the sale and closed immediately. These closures unfortunately resulted in 79 job losses."
Nick Holloway, director at KPMG UK, who led the sale, commented: “We are delighted that we have been able to rescue such a long established business including a high proportion of stores and preserve a large number of jobs, especially given the current economic pressures faced by retailers across the UK.
"The trade sale complements the existing ProCook business and further increases their high street presence.”
While the cookware shop has been saved, Bridge Street in Chester has been hit by closures in recent weeks including Crabtree & Evelyn and Swarovski. Trespass clothing is currently displaying a ‘closing down’ sale but, according to staff, is to remain open for at least another six months.
