OUTDOOR clothing firm Blacks Leisure yesterday announced plans to close 89 of its loss-making stores.

The company, which operates ten of its 256 Millets shops in the North-East and North Yorkshire, and seven of its 116 Blacks Outdoor outlets in the region, said it was too early to say whether any of those would be affected.

The company did not disclose how many jobs will be affected. It also warned that 50 roles at its Northampton head office were likely to go.

Blacks is under increasing financial pressure and admitted further restructuring is still required to satisfy banking terms. A spokesman said: “The vast majority of the stores to be closed have not traded profitably for years.”

Blacks agreed a £40m lending facility with Lloyds Banking Group in July but “recent, unexpected difficult trading”

has meant it is likely to breach its lending terms at the end of September. It has until the end of October to submit an acceptable turnaround plan to the bank.

As part of the restructuring, Blacks called in administrators to its 11 O’Neill boardwear stores, including one in York, putting 90 jobs at risk.