
Poundland in Oldham has reopened after an ‘unexpected’ closure last week sparked confusion among local shoppers.
The town centre discount store was suddenly shuttered up and staff were sent home on Monday, June 30, when landlords Merchant Taylor Commercial tried to repossess the property.
But a Poundland spokesperson said the company took legal action and was granted an injunction earlier this week allowing the store to reopen.
The spokesperson said: “Our exclusion from the store was unexpected and we needed to understand as a matter of urgency from the landlord why they had taken that action without any notification.
“We believed their action fell outside the terms of our lease agreement and therefore took legal action to enable us to return to the store as soon as possible. The legal injunction was granted on Friday and we therefore re-opened on Monday.
“We are always open to positive, open dialogue with landlords.”
Last week’s closure came as Poundland planned a national restructure, which could see up to 150 stores closed across the UK. But the Oldham town centre shop was not tipped to be among the first 68 closures.
Yet the landlords issued a repossession notice, which included taking possession of all the contents of the shop and demanding a Bailiff Fee. The ‘shock’ closure sparked fears of redundancies for local employees, with townhall boss councillor Arooj Shah promising to reach out to those affected.
The Poundland store is now back to its normal operating hours of 8am to 6pm on Monday to Saturday and 10.30am to 4.30pm on Sundays.
Merchant Taylor Commercial did not wish to comment on the situation.