Beales’ flagship Bournemouth store will be no more within eight weeks.

The joint administrators of the department store chain have confirmed that it is among 12 to be closed.

The remaining 11, including Poole, will continue to operate as normal.

In a statement, the joint administrators from KPMG said:

“The joint administrators of the Beales department store chain have confirmed that they remain in active discussions with interested parties regarding a going concern sale of a number of stores.

“Unfortunately, however, no offers have been received in respect of selling all 23 stores as a going concern.

“As a result, the joint administrators are now in the process of developing plans with store directors and management teams to implement the closure of 12 stores.

“It is anticipated that these stores will continue to trade, running closing down sales for around eight weeks.

“Employees across these stores will be retained to assist with trading over the weeks ahead, and the joint administrators and their teams will continue to work closely with staff during this period.

“There is currently no intention to implement closure plans for the remaining 11 stores, which will all continue to operate as usual until an outcome with regards to a sale of the business is clarified.”

Apart from Bournemouth, the other stores to be closed are:  Hexham, Worthing, Tonbridge, Peterborough, Mansfield, Keighley, Perth, Spalding, Wisbech, Bedford and Yeovil.

The news comes a week after 32 job losses were announced at Beales’ head office in Bournemouth.

They were the first since the 139-year-old retail group went into administration on January 20.

The staff affected are believed to be in back-office support roles.

The head office employs a total of 76 people.