THERE is another blow for Ammanford as a popular low-budget chain is set to close.

Poundstretcher on Ammanford’s College Street will be closing – just two years after the store opened.

The store opened on February 20, 2021, with both full and part-time jobs and they donated £250 worth of vouchers to Ammanford Foodbank.

Unfortunately for workers and shoppers in Ammanford, signs have appeared on the windows at the store advertising a closing down sale and 20 per cent off everything in store.

The date of closure has not been confirmed as The South Wales Guardian spoke with staff at the store who were unable to tell us more about the closure and the Poundstretcher press office did not respond.

It is a blow for staff in the run up to Christmas and yet another major chain to close in recent weeks as Wilko shut its doors in the town in September, although another budget chain – Poundland – opened just a couple of weeks ago on the former Wilko site.

South Wales Guardian: The store has closing down sale signs.The store has closing down sale signs. (Image: Newsquest)

Adam Price, MS for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, said: “I was deeply concerned to learn that the Poundstretcher store in Ammanford will be closing. I understand that there are many pressures affecting businesses at the moment, but this will come as a major blow to staff.

“Redundancies such as this are never good news, but to come just before the Christmas period will be particularly difficult for staff. I hope that there is an alternative found soon so that staff can be sure of their future.

“If anyone affected needs support, please contact my office via adam.price@senedd.wales.”

Over the last couple of years, Poundstretcher has been closing a number of stores across the UK, with the last lot being announced in July, despite the chain announcing plans to open 50 new stores by the end of 2023 back in February.

Poundstretcher had been in some financial difficulty as in November 2022, the chain came out of a two-year Compulsory Voluntary Arrangement, which is a way for businesses to restructure and continue trading, but it does usually lead to store closures and negotiating rent down.

The legal arrangement was put in place in July 2020 and at the time, it closed 500 branches and has now paid around 13 million of what it had owed.