Mothercare store closures 'do not affect Irish operations'

Mothercare Ireland has said that a decision to shut 111 shops in Britain does not affect its operations here.

In a statement the company reiterated that Mothercare Ireland is a wholly-owned Irish business, which is trading profitably and continuing to expand.

The firm insisted that the jobs of all 350 people employed in 24 stores nationwide are safe.

The company's parent had earlier announced plans to cut the number of stores in the UK from 311 to 200 over the next three years in a move impacting 730 jobs.

The announcement came as the group revealed a further deterioration in UK like-for-like sales, which fell 9.5% in the 12 weeks to March 31, compared with 3% in the previous quarter.