Larne M&Co branch to remain open

The company, which has had a presence in the town for over 13 years, appointed administrators in April as the coronavirus outbreak forced the temporary closure of most UK outlets.

This week, the company confirmed that the administration process will see the estate reduced from 265 to 218 stores, with around 380 redundancies from a total workforce of over 2,600.

However, the branch at Laharna Retail Park is one of those to be retained.

M&Co’s chief executive Andy McGeoch said: “It quickly became clear that best way to save most jobs and most stores was to enter administration, with a new company acquiring the assets of the old business, and this process has now been finalised. Covid has been by far the biggest challenge our family business has faced in almost 60 years, and I am really pleased that we have been able to maintain a presence in over 200 communities."