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IN VIEW


By Ged Henderson and Rob Kelly


A Debenhams spokesman said: “Following a strategic review, we are proposing the potential closure of our Burnley distribution centre in early 2026, with operations gradually transferring to Sheffield, which could offer greater capacity and efficiencies.


“This is not a proposal we put forward lightly, but we believe it may be important for the long- term health of the business and for delivering our new strategy.


“Consultation with Burnley colleagues has begun and, as part of this process, we will carefully consider feedback and explore opportunities for colleagues to remain with the business. We will not comment further while the consultation is ongoing.”


JOBS BLOW AT THE DOUBLE


East Lancashire has been hit hard by the news two of the area’s largest employers are looking to transfer their operations out of the county.


in association with


Global retail giant EG Group is moving its headquarters from Blackburn to America. The forecourt and convenience store business, founded by the billionaire Issa brothers, has revealed its “continued transition to a US- managed organisation.”


As part of that transition its group headquarters will be relocated to Charlotte in North Carolina where key financial, legal and other corporate personnel will be based.


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In parallel with that work, the group’s European Share Service Centre is also being moved down the A666 to Bolton.


The bombshell moves, which the business says will “drive its next phase of growth”, were revealed in a trading update for the second quarter of 2025.


That news was followed just days later by a devastating announcement that jobs are set to be lost with the closure of a large-scale online distribution centre in Burnley.


Debenhams is planning to close its site on the Heasandford Industrial Estate site and transfer operations to Sheffield early next year.


More than 1,250 people work at the Burnley centre – making it one of the biggest employers in the area. It was formerly operated under the Boohoo brand, and was renamed Debenhams Group earlier this year.


View from the gallery


TRADE STRATEGY IS A MISSED OPPORTUNITY By Antony Higginbotham,


Former Member of Parliament for Burnley


In June the government announced, with great fanfare, its trade strategy. As a former member of the Commons Trade Committee, it feels like a major missed opportunity rather than the bold advance the government claims.


Reading through the document there is a lot of heavy lifting being done by previously announced measures, like the £20bn boost for UK Export Finance, as well as vague promises of ‘agile’ trade deals without any detail on what these look like in practice.


An agile trade deal sounds like one that adapts over time, but this is unlikely to be negotiable with any major economy, because it introduces too much uncertainty.


The confusion on trade agreements doesn’t end there. On Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) specifically, they say on one hand these will be less likely in the future, because they are ‘complex’ and take time to negotiate, whilst at the same time trumpeting the UK-India agreement as one of the highlights of the current policy. Surely, if they are so significant, they are worth the time and complexity.


In part this seems to be part of the continuing shift towards a ‘Bidenomics’ style economic policy – something Rachel Reeves has previously championed. This focused far more on mini trade deals, mutual recognition and pursuing greater labour standards around the world, than it did hard trade wins on an economy-wide basis.


EG Group has been based in Zuber and Mohsin Issa’s hometown for almost a quarter of a century as the brothers worked to turn it into a global business.


Their business empire began back in 2001 when they bought a run-down petrol station close to Bury town centre. EG Group’s current Waterside headquarters opened in 2020 and cost £35m to build.


In its statement it said the move to Bolton would retain its North West roots “while ensuring its office footprint reflects EG Group’s reduced presence in the UK and Europe.”


The focus on the US was also highlighted with recent top-level appointments. The group is now led by New York City-based Russ Colaco, who took over the role of chief executive from Mohsin in April.


Retail and distribution trade union Usdaw has called on Debenhams to engage with it over the proposed closure of its Burnley operation.


Amanda Bailey-Coll, Usdaw regional secretary for the North West, said: “We are urging the


The lack of ambition is nowhere clearer than in the deal announced with the USA. In the trade strategy this is praised as being a landmark achievement, but in fact it doesn’t even take us back to where we were 12 months ago and is far more limited in scope than the US-EU Framework Agreement just announced.


There is still hope. Our negotiators are among the best in the world, having negotiated more agreements than most because of the comprehensive trade approach initiated by the last Conservative government.


So, if there is a deal to be done – with the US, in the Gulf, with South Korea – we will do it. And this says nothing about the network of FTAs already in place.


Ultimately, exporting and trade isn’t a government-led initiative. Whilst they can support and remove barriers, it’s business-led. And so, for Lancashire’s exporters – and for those who don’t yet export but could – the time is now.


Antony Higginbotham is a former MP and now co-runs Polaris Partners, a Lancashire based political consultancy. He can be contacted at antony@polarispartners.co.uk


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