U.K. chain Bonmarche to shutter 160 U.K. stores

London -- A report released Tuesday by Bloomberg said that U.K. clothing chain Bonmarche will close as many as 160 out of 390 stores after its owner Peacock Group sold the chain to an affiliate of Sun European Partners.



KPMG administrated the transaction; the new buyer said that about 2,400 of 3,800 jobs will be retained.



The report said that KPMG had been seeking a buyer for Bonmarche since being appointed earlier this month as administrator to Peacock, which also owns Peacock’s Stores Ltd., a U.K. discount apparel chain.



Sun European VP Matthias Gundlach said in a statement that the company is “confident in putting a sustainable growth program in place and working with the management team to develop the business successfully.”