Adams closing five stores in NI

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Adams Childrenswear has closed five of its stores in Northern Ireland, five days after it went into administration.

Shops in Coleraine, Londonderry, Omagh, Portadown and the Park Centre in Belfast shut on Monday. Seven Adams stores remain open in Northern Ireland.

Across the UK, 111 stores have closed but 160 are still trading as administrators try to sell the company.

As a result of the closures, 850 members of staff have been made redundant with immediate effect.

Forty-nine of those redundancies are in Northern Ireland.

Adams blamed the decision on the "current downturn being experienced on the high street".

But the administrators said they were optimistic that they would be able to sell some parts of the business.

"Since our appointment five days ago, I am pleased to say that we have had a number of expressions of interest in the Adams business and brand," said Rob Hunt from the administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Nuneaton-based firm, the UK's largest independent childrenswear seller, employs 3,200 people.