BrightHouse store in the High Street, High Wycombe to close on Sat 23rd Mar 2019

Matthew Clark | March 22, 2019

BrightHouse store in the High Street, High Wycombe.

The BrightHouse in the High Street, High Wycombe is to close permanently on Saturday 23rd March 2019.

The closure was originally announced on Tuesday 5th January 2019 as part of a wider store closure programme by the rent-to-own retailer which will see thirty BrightHouse shops close throughout the United Kingdom with the loss of 350 jobs representing about about 10% of the company’s total estate.

A clampdown on rent-to-own retailers by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2018 to cap the amount of interest that rent-to-own retailers charge customers and tough trading conditions on the High Street are believed to be the drivers for the store closure programme.

The interest cap ruling from the FCA means that from April 2019 the maximum interest paid must not be greater than the cost of the product itself. For example if a television costs £400 then customers will pay no more than £800 in total. The price charged for the goods must also not exceed the median (middle) price charged by three mainstream retailers.

Before the closures the company had over 270 stores and employed around 3,000 people in the UK.

The thirty stores that will close are as follows :