THE new bosses of curtains and bedding retailer Rosebys will close 60 stores after buying the business for £51m.

There are 17 stores across the North-East and North Yorkshire, but no details were available last night as to which will go.

Rosebys' new management team announced last night that it had completed the buyout of the retail chain from parent company Homestyle Group

The new line-up said it planned to press ahead with the previous management's plans to close 60 stores across the UK during the next two years, leaving Rosebys with about 350 outlets.

They said there would be only minimal redundancies among 3,500 full and part-time staff, with all full-time workers being redeployed to other stores.

Stores in the region include Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Stockton, Dur-ham, Sunderland, the MetroCentre and York.

Rosebys is Britain's biggest home furnishings retailer, with more than 400 stores around the country. It had sales of nearly £200m last year.

It was founded in 1925 and is best known for bedding, curtains, bathroom textiles and accessories. More than 15 per cent of its total sales are in off-the-roll fabrics through Fabric Warehouses.

The buyout has been backed by private equity group Lloyds TSB Development Capital, which will take a 73.5 per cent stake in the company.

The ten-member management team is led by managing director Tony Richards, financial director Mark Dyson and logistics director Tony Mannix.