M&S to close two shops in county

M&S has 350 specialist Simply Food stores

Marks and Spencer plans to close two of its Simply Food stores in Berkshire as part of 25 UK food outlet closures.

The retailer said it would be shutting its shops in Bracknell and Caversham, leaving an uncertain future for the 53 staff employed at the two sites.

The UK closures will mean the loss of 780 jobs. Marks and Spencer is also planning to cut 450 head office jobs.

The firm revealed its total UK sales fell by almost 3.5% in the run-up to the Christmas period.

Also, the retailer is closing two regular stores at Croydon Valley Retail Park and in Woking.

STORES CLOSING See list of stores to be closed [31KB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here

The firm also warned that its profit margins would be lower this year as a result of discounting, especially in food.

The retailer hopes its redundancy programme, store closures and pension cuts will reduce its annual running costs by between £175m and £200m.

Executive chairman Sir Stewart Rose said: "We are aware that the proposed changes set out above will be difficult for those members of staff impacted.

"But given that we expect challenging economic conditions to continue for at least the next 12 months we believe we are taking the right action to maintain the strength of our business."