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Six Virgin Holidays concessions to shut amid House of Fraser closures

Six Virgin Holidays concessions in House of Fraser will be closed as the department store chain announced it was to shut 32 retail locations.

Travel agency Virgin Holidays said it is confident that all the agents working in the six stores affected will be found roles at alternative locations.

Customers were reassured that the shop closures will have no impact on their holiday bookings.

House of Fraser has 59 retail locations across the UK. The 31 closures could affect up to 6,000 jobs.

Stores scheduled for closure will stay open until early 2019, as will the Virgin Holidays concessions inside.

The House of Fraser stores which include Virgin Holidays concessions and face closure are: Lincoln,
Sutton Coldfield, Carlisle, Chichester, Leamington Spa and Worcester.

A spokeswoman for Virgin Holidays told Travel Weekly: “Virgin Holidays is working closely with House of Fraser following today’s announcement. We’re speaking with our staff in stores that are affected by House of Fraser’s CVA plan and are confident we will be able to offer alternative locations for our people in the event of store closures.

“All our stores continue to be open as usual and we’d like to reassure customers who have booked through a House of Fraser store that it will have absolutely no impact on their holiday. If they do have any concerns they can contact our customer relations team on 0344 557 8830 or visit their local store.”

Speaking to the BBC, House of Fraser chief executive Alex Williamson described the move as “brutal”, adding: “we have not taken this decision lightly”.

Virgin Holidays also has concessions in department store Debenhams, fashion retailer Next and supermarket Tesco.

MoreVirgin Holidays to create ‘shops-in-shops’ in Next stores

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