THE Peacocks store in Banbridge is closed with immediate effect, with the loss of 10 jobs.

The Peacocks Group’s sale to Edinburgh Woollen Mill was announced today. The closure follows the announcement last month that Bonmarche - previously owned by the Group - is to close it’s Newry Street store also.

Eight people will lose their jobs when Bonmarche shuts its doors.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill, which is one of the UK’s largest high street chains, has acquired the Peacocks brand, 388 stores and concessions, as well as the business’ headquarters and logistics functions in Wales. The deal has protected around 6,000 jobs in the UK.

The remaining 224 stores were not included in the sale and have ceased trading with immediate effect, resulting in 3,100 redundancies.

Chris Laverty, joint administrator and restructuring partner at KPMG, said, “Like many other retailers, Peacocks suffered from a decline in consumer spending due to the tough economic conditions and this, combined with a surplus of stores and unsustainable capital structure led to the business becoming financially unviable.

“However, a strong brand presence and loyal customer following meant that Peacocks attracted a great deal of interest from both trade and private equity bidders, leading to today’s successful sale. I would take this opportunity to thank the management team and staff for their continued assistance in very difficult circumstances; their support has been invaluable in securing today’s sale.”

BIG names in local business will be out in force this Thursday for a night of celebrating all that is good in the world of business across the district.

The Leader’s Banbridge and District Business Awards will kick off in the Belmont Hotel at 7pm, with politicians joining businessmen and women for a glitzy ceremony.

The ceremony aims to recognise the talent, entrepreneurship and excellence that exists across the full range of business and commerce in the area.

Featuring a delicious dinner, awards ceremony, and entertainment from well-known Belfast comedian and star of “Give my Head Peace” Tim McGarry, it is sure to make for a fantastic night.

Banbridge Leader editor John Hooks said the night will be a celebration of the many successful businesses throughout the district.

“This is our second business awards and it will again be a chance for businessessmen and women throughout the area to be recognised for their hard work throughout the year,” said Mr Hooks.

“The last ceremony was a great success and we are delighted to be building on that for this year’s awards.

“The Leader is proud to be heading an event which will give recognition to the businesses at the heart of our community in the town and throughout the district.

“Everyone at the Leader is looking forward to what promises to be a great night.”

The awards, which are running on a theme entitled “From Flax to the Future”, have been sponsored by Land Securities.

Brian Henning, Managing Director of the Lotus Group and Stoney Properties, the joint venture partners of Land Securities at Bridgewater Park said : “The Business Awards are a very important event in the local business calendar and we are very pleased to be sponsoring them.

“It’s been a tough year for many local businesses and everyone has had to push themselves that bit harder to meet targets. There will be many people who have worked very hard throughout the year and the evening will be an opportunity to recognise and reward those businesses and individuals for their focus and commitment to meeting and indeed exceeding the needs of their customers.

“Banbridge is a great place to work and to grow your business,. We are firmly committed to the potential and success of the town, with the Lotus Group having recently relocated from Newry establishing new offices in the old Shoe factory site and Lotus Homes, our house builder investing significantly and pushing on with The Lotus Village development at the sit.

“I wish all of the entrants the best for the competition and look forward to a great event and evening.”

The ceremony aims to recognise the wide variety of aspects required for a successful business. The 2012 awards theme pays homage to the long history of individual and collective industry upon which local towns have taken root and flourished and the companies which carry on that tradition today.

POWER NI, formerly NIE Energy, recently visited Craigavon Civic Centre to participate in one of three ‘Winter Warmer’ events organised by the Promoting Wellbeing Team, Southern Health & Social Care Trust, which provides local residents with an insight into how they can save time, money and energy in their homes.

Power NI’s Wilma Stewart commented, “Through our ‘Face to Face Programme’ we aim to get out and about in the community, delivering presentations on how to save energy and money to our customers, organisations and representative groups, promoting the simple message - what we can do for you.”

Kathy Chambers, Neighbourhood Renewal Co-ordinator, Craigavon said, “We are delighted that 250 older people from the Craigavon area attended these Winter Warmer events which provided valuable information on how to keep their home warm and safe through Winter. We were really impressed by the quality of the presentation from Power NI and learnt a great deal about the help that is available from them.”

With Power NI, paying by Direct Debit means savings for customers. The same amount is debited each month which helps spread the cost of heavier winter bills, allowing customers to stay in control of their bills and helping them budget.

By choosing to pay for your electricity by monthly Direct Debit, you can pocket a 4% discount off your bills, which leads to a saving of up to £40 per year.

Also, with a Power NI ‘Pay as you go’ Keypad, you can save 2.5% discount off every unit of electricity you use. There are various ways to ‘top up’ including the latest outlet via a free ‘top up’ app for iPhone and Android users.‘Pay as you go’ Keypad is free to install and comes with a handy monitor so you can view the amount of electricity you’re using.

For further information on how to save money and energy this winter, visit www.powerni.co.uk/savingenergy or call 08457 455 455. Lines open Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm.

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