High Court appoints Examiner to Debenhams as fears of job losses mount

Popular retailer Debenhams has had an Interim Examiner appointed to the company following a ruling at the High Court this afternoon.

The move comes after directors of the company applied to the courts for protection, with Kieran Wallace of KPMG due to oversee the process.

There are 11 Debenhams stores located around the country, one of which is in the Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge.

It is unsure what the future holds for the company as they have suffered through several years of losses, eventually accumulating a loss of €6.7 million in total. The company put the losses down to the rise in operating costs.

There is no indication as to how the store in Newbridge will be affected, though John Bebbington, Director of Debenhams Retail Ireland, has said that the company will be trying to save as many jobs as possible.

"The Directors of Debenhams Retail (Ireland) will work hard to secure the long term future of the business in Ireland, enabling us to continue to serve our customers well, to provide sustainable jobs for our colleagues and to support the Irish economy," he said.

"A key element of the examinership would be to protect as many jobs as possible. We believe this will be in the best long term interests of all our stakeholders. During the examinership process it will be business as usual for all of our stores and online trading," he added.