ADMINISTRATORS have announced that 33 Land of Leather stores will close, but outlets in south-east London and north Kent have escaped the axe.

The latest round of closures will not directly affect the Land of Leather stores currently open in Springvale Retail Park in Sevenoaks Way, Orpington, or Bugsby's Way in Greenwich.

The company’s head office on the Northfleet Industrial Estate in Lower Road, Northfleet, will also be unaffected.

Land of Leather tumbled into administration on January 12, after what administrator Deloitte described as “challenging trading conditions”.

But no-one has yet come forward to buy the furniture giant and so 30 stores in the UK and three in Ireland will close, putting 95 jobs at risk.

A Deloitte spokesman said: “While we are making every effort to sell Land of Leather as a going concern, it is apparent that interested parties will not buy all of the 109 stores.

“Therefore, we have taken the decision to begin pre-closure inventory liquidation sales at 33 of the stores.

“We have begun discounting the stock in those stores with a view to winding down.

“However, we continue to talk to prospective buyers for the business, and all other stores remain open and available for purchase as a going concern.”

Deloitte say they are looking at the possibility of relocating affected employees to other stores.

Do you work for Land of Leather? Are you worried about your job? Contact the Newsroom on 01689 885 732 or leave your comments below.