Electricals group Darty is to close its troubled Spanish operation, a little over a year after it sold its now-defunct UK chain Comet.
Darty, whose chairman is City heavyweight Alan Parker, also completed the disposal of its Italian business recently, leaving it with operations in eight countries, including its biggest market, France.
Parker, also the chairman of retailer Mothercare, said turning around and rebuilding the loss-making Spanish business would have been “a long and potentially expensive journey with no guarantee of success in what we expect to remain a very difficult market”.
He added: “The board has concluded that a managed closure provides the most certain outcome.”
Darty, previously known as Kesa Electricals, offloaded its troubled Comet business by paying distressed-investments firm Opcapita a £50m dowry last February. But Comet closed the doors on its 236 stores in December with the loss of 6,600 jobs.
