NI jobs lost as JJB Sports stores close

Image caption, This notice was posted at a JJB Sports outlet in east Belfast

More than 150 jobs are going at retailer JJB Sports as it closes ten stores in Northern Ireland.

The troubled retailer has sold 20 of its stores out of administration to former competitor Sports Direct, with three remaining open in Northern Ireland.

They are in Antrim, Lisburn and Londonderry.

Around 65 jobs will remain in the Northern Ireland stores.

Store closures took immediate effect. The administrators KPMG said staff being made redundant were paid all wages and entitlements due.

Image caption, The scene at JJB Sports at Strand Road in Derry

Among the shops closed are those in Ballymena, Bangor, Belfast, Coleraine, Craigavon, Londonderry, Newry and Newtownards

JJB is the latest in a long line of retailers to go bust since the beginning of the recession, which has had a devastating effect on the high street.

A recent survey found that many shops were lying vacant, with one in four retail units in Belfast now empty.