Shop closes permanently

THE Fishponds branch of Shaws the Drapers has closed permanently after the company went into liquidation.

The shop in Fishponds Road, near the Manor Road junction, closed with no notice or explanation in early December, following a sale in which stock was sold off at half price.

It was one of 28 stores nationwide run by the Cardiff-based company, which had been trading for more than 100 years, selling soft furnishings and craft supplies, including wool and yarn.

The last of the stores closed two days before Christmas and the company's website, Shawsdirect.com, also shut down.

An email from the company, shown to the BBC, told staff they would be paid in full up to Christmas Eve and thanked them for their service.

It said: "I hope that you will understand that after 100 years of trading, this hasn't been an easy decision for us to make, and we fully appreciate the consequences for you, but the business simply is not viable and we cannot see a way of making it so."

A spokesperson for Stones & Co confirmed that the company had been instructed by the directors of Shaws to help place it into creditors' voluntary liquidation, under which the company would be formally closed.

Its remaining assets would be valued and sold to help meet its debts.

Ex-employees entitled to redundancy pay or pay in lieu of notice were being referred to the government's Redundancy Payments Service.

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