Embattled supermarket Tesco is to close its last six Homeplus stores and axe about 450 jobs.The group said stores in Hartcliffe in Bristol, Bracknell, Nottingham, Denton, Bromborough and Preston will close on 27 June.

Tesco

Six other outlets were closed in March.

The latest move brings the curtain down on Tesco’s non-food retail business, which launched in 2005 offering standalone outlets stocking homeware, clothing, electrical goods and stationery products.

“We’ve taken the difficult decision to close our remaining six Homeplus stores,” a spokesman said.

“Our priority is now to explain what this announcement means for our colleagues and wherever possible offer them alternative roles with Tesco.”

Homeplus previously employed 840 staff, with 390 jobs lost when the earlier tranche of stores closed two months ago.

The latest blow comes on top of the 43 group-wide store closures announced in January, affecting 2,000 staff.

Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, has suffered one of the worst years in its history, last month announcing a £6.4bn annual loss after taking a massive writedown on the value of its property portfolio.

Its profits were also dragged down by a series of profit warnings amid a ferocious price war with rivals.

The group’s dire year also saw it forced to declare a £263m black hole in its accounts.