M&Co has announced its store at Hempstead Valley in Gillingham is due to close on 21 March, just over two years after first opening.

The Scottish fashion retailer opened its only store in Medway back in November 2017, when it was hailed as its largest store at the time at 12,600sqft, having created 30 jobs as a result.

Its store moved in to the space previously occupied by BHS, which closed in August 2016 after the business was placed into administration.

However, rumours began to circulate on social media earmarking the impending closure of the M&Co store, which have now been confirmed.

A spokesperson for M&Co said: "I can confirm that it is due to close on the 21st [of March] due to the lease expiring and the landlord giving us notice to leave."

While no specific number was attributed to the expected job losses, the spokesperson added that "many of the Hempstead Valley team members have already secured new roles."

A permanent tenant for the soon-to-be vacant M&Co store is yet to be announced, although a spokesperson for Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre explained that it will be used by Sainsbury's on a 'temporary basis'.

​The spokesperson for Hempstead Valley said: "The current plan is that Sainsburys’s will occupy the unit on a temporary basis whilst the store has a re-fit, we are hoping that the Sainsbury’s refit will be completed in time for Christmas."

The news of the store's closure comes just months after M&Co's profits reportedly dropped by 40% due to 'economic and political uncertainty', according to Drapers.

It's good news for Chatham as the Bonmarché store in the High Street will not be closing its doors after the company was rescued from administration.

The clothing retailer's assets and stock were acquired by Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) Group, which also owns Peacocks, last month after the troubled business fell into administration in October 2019, having previously issued a series of profit warnings amid an increasingly difficult retail environment.

Closing down signs have been removed from the shop's windows and were replaced with a banner hailing a "new chapter" for Bonmarché, thanking customers for their support. It further reads that the business is "excited about our future as part of the [EWM] group".

Future Chatham first reported the possibility of Bonmarché closing at the beginning of December last year, when it emerged that 30 "under-performing and unsustainable" stores were to shut as part of cost-cutting measures.