Beales was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

chain. The former flagship store, Beales in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, was established as The Fancy Fair by

John Elmes Beale John Elmes Beale (6 December 1847 – 1 July 1928) was an English politician and merchant. He was Mayor of Bournemouth in 1902, 1903 and 1904. He founded Beales, Bournemouth's largest department store. Born in Hartford Terrace, Melcombe Re ...

in 1881 and was the biggest department store in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. The chain expanded through acquiring other department stores and continued to run two stores branded as Palmers in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

and

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

until its closure. The company was listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

until its private equity takeover. Beales entered

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

on 20 January 2020 and finally closed their remaining stores on 18 March 2020. It formerly operated 23 branches before entering administration. However, a new company, New Start 2020 Limited, reopened the Beales store in Poole in August 2020. The new Beales company will close its doors for the final time at the end of May 2025.

History

Beales was established in 1881 by John Elmes Beale when he opened a store, initially known as a Fancy Fair and Oriental House, on Old Christchurch Road in Bournemouth, Dorset. The company was run by the Beale family during the 20th century; Bennett Beale took over from his father, then by his John's grandson Frank. Frank Beale trained at

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

before returning to lead the company. In the 1980s Nigel Beale, grandson of the company's founder, led the company. Beales claims to be the first department store in the world to feature a live

Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrela ...

character, dating back to 1885. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the company's Bournemouth store was bombed on 23 May 1943. The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1995. Whitakers, the Bolton department store opened in 1829 was bought by Beales in 1996, with the name changed to Beales in 2011.

Early 21st-century expansion

The group acquired the

Bentalls Bentalls was a British department store chain based in Kingston upon Thames. The well regarded department store began as a drapery shop, founded by Frank Bentall in 1867. The business expanded significantly throughout the 20th century and operat ...

department stores in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

(closed October 2007),

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

and

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

from Fenwick in 2002 and closed its

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, known locally as Walton, is a market town on the bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, Thames in northwest Surrey, England. It is in the Borough of Elmbridge, about southwest of central London. Walton forms part ...

store in January 2006. A new Beales store opened in

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

in September 2006 in premises formerly occupied by

Allders Allders was an independent department store operating in the United Kingdom. The original store was established in 1862 in Croydon by Joshua Allder. In the second half of the 20th century, this parent store was developed into a chain of depart ...

. On 4 June 2010, Beales acquired the

Robbs Robbs was a mid-size department store in Hexham, latterly owned by Beales. It was established in 1818 by William Robb a lace trader from Fife and subsequently managed for the next 169 years in an unbroken father to son line for six generations ...

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administra ...

from

Vergo Retail Vergo Retail Ltd was a department store business based in Liverpool, England, founded in 2007. Vergo Retail ran 20 shops, consisting of nine department stores, including Lewis's of Liverpool, Robbs of Hexham, Joplings of Sunderland and Derrys ...

which was in administration, for £250,000. In August 2010, Beales expanded further by acquiring the Westgate Department Store in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

from the

Anglia Regional Co-operative Society Anglia Regional Co-operative Society Limited was the fifth largest consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the merger of the Greater Peterborough Regional and Anglia (formerly Waveney District, Waveney) co-operative societ ...

. As of 5 April 2011, Beales acquired 19 additional Westgate stores, securing its long-term future. In May 2012, Beales announced it would be opening an outlet store in the former T.J. Hughes store in

The Mall Maidstone The Mall Maidstone (originally known as The Stoneborough Centre, subsequently Chequers Shopping Centre and then The Mall Chequers) is a covered shopping centre in Maidstone, the county town of Kent. The centre has of floor space, ranking it as ...

. This store closed in June 2013. In addition a branch in

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Aire and the Leeds ...

closed in November 2012, a branch in

Cinderford Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The population was 8,777 at the 2021 Census. The town came into existence in the 19th century, following the rapid expansion of the ...

closed in July 2013. In summer 2014, the large

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

store closed for re-development of the land by the landlord. In June 2016, a planning application submitted by AEW UK for 76 flats in Bournemouth's Beales store was unanimously rejected after a campaign by locals and the owners of Beales backed by Conor Burns MP. The 65 studio and 11 one bedroom flats with no parking which were described by AEW UK as "an

environmentally sustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

approach" which "made the best use of the building" were rejected by councillors as "shabby" and "appalling". On 28 November 2018, Beales bought Palmers. Tony Brown took the company into private ownership in 2018. Beales was a member of Associated Independent Stores (a buying group) which enables Beales to benefit from the cost savings of buying textiles and other non-food goods in bulk.

2020 closure and reopening

On 12 January 2020, Beales warned that the company with 23 stores in the UK could collapse into administration, if a buyer for the business could not be found. On 20 January 2020, Beales formally entered administration, appointing KPMG as the administrators. It was understood that there would be no immediate store closures and Beales stores would continue to trade as normal in the short term. On the same date, the beales.co.uk customer-facing website also went offline. At the time of entering administration, Beales had 23 stores and employed in excess of 1,000 people whose jobs were at risk. On 7 February 2020, it was announced that Beales was closing 12 stores, due to failure to sell the chain as a whole. This included Beales’ flagship store and many other significant locations. On 18 February it was announced that, although negotiations with a number of parties were continuing, the remaining 11 stores would close within the following 8 weeks selling their remaining stock. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

hastened the closure of the remaining Beales stores, with the last stores closing on 18 March and the website going offline shortly afterwards. Beales owed £12.6million, and during a month of closing down sales took £9.6 million in revenue. However, a new company, New Start 2020 Limited, owned by Panther Securities reopened a Beales store in Poole in August 2020. Panther Securities' chairman Andrew Perloff owned Beales for three years previously. The new company hired Beales' former CEO Tony Brown to run the Poole project. Further store reopenings followed at Peterborough in May 2021 and Southport in August of that year. University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust set up a new ‘health village’ on the second floor of the Beales department store in Poole, in 2022, using material and equipment from decommissioned

Nightingale hospitals COVID-19 hospitals in the United Kingdom were temporary hospitals set up in the United Kingdom and overseas territories as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They principally included the seven NHS England Nightingale Hospitals, ...

. This 20,000 sq ft clinic will cover ophthalmology, dermatology, breast screening, and musco-skeletal services. After closing the Peterborough and Southport stores, Beales announced in February 2025 that its final remaining branch in Poole would close by the end of May 2025. Tony Brown, Beale's chief executive, said that the Labour government's increases to employer's National Insurance contribution meant that Beales had become 'unviable', adding £200,000 to the firm's costs. On 14 May 2025,

Kemi Badenoch Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke Badenoch (' Adegoke; born 2 January 1980) is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservati ...

, the Conservative Party leader, used Beales as an example of the failure of the Labour Government. She said that Beales 'could not survive this Labour government' and were having a 'Rachel Reeves closing down sale'.

Locations

Former locations

* Abingdon (formerly Westgate Contact Electrical and Comfortmaker; acquired May 2011, closed 8 January 2017) *

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is located along the A145 r ...

(formerly Westgate; acquired May 2011, closed 18 March 2020) *

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

(formerly E Braggins & Son; acquired 1982, closed March 2020) *

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham, England, Durham. M ...

(formerly Westgate; acquired May 2011, closed January 2017) *

Blandford Forum Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...

, Cherretts (funeral services; sold 1990) *

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

(formerly Whitakers; acquired March 1996, closed 31 December 2016) *

(opened 1881 as The Fancy Fair; closed 2020) *

, Bealesons (formerly Okeys; closed 1982; site since occupied by The Avenue Shopping Centre) *

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 201 ...

(formerly Westgate; acquired May 2011, closed 18 March 2020) *

(formerly Westgate and originally 'County Store' of Gloucester and Severnside Co-operative Society; acquired May 2011, closed July 2013) * Diss (formerly Westgate; acquired May 2011, closed 18 March 2020) * Dorchester,

Dash The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

(franchise; closed 1992) *

(formerly

and originally Eldred Sayers & Son; acquired 2002, closed October 2007) *

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

(opened 1927; building sold in 1946 to Brighton Co-operative Society) *

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

(opened 2019 in premises previously occupied by

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

, closed 18 March 2020) *

, Beales Boutique (originally Beales for Men; opened 2010, closed 2011) *

, Palmers (acquired 28 November 2018, closed 15 March 2020) *

(formerly Westgate and originally Sunwin House; acquired May 2011, closed 2014; building demolished 2015) *

(formerly

; acquired June 2010, closed 24 February 2020) *

(formerly

; acquired 2006, closed July 2016; building since occupied by Dunelm) *

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

, Wests *

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

(formerly J R Taylor and originally Musgroves; acquired 1999, closed 18 March 2020) *

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

, Beales Home Store (formerly Westgate, preceded by Sunwin House; acquired May 2011, closed August 2014) *

, Beales Fashion Store (formerly Westgate, preceded by Sunwin House; acquired May 2011, closed February 2020) *

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

(formerly Westgate; acquired May 2011, closed 2016) *

, Palmers (formerly Chadds; acquired 28 November 2018, closed 18 March 2020) *

(formerly Westgate; acquired May 2011, closed April 2019 when the town's nearby Palmers store became 'part of the Beales family of stores') *

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

, Beales Outlet (

; formerly a branch of

T J Hughes TJ Hughes, a trading name of LHR Holding Limited, is a British discount department store brand which first emerged in Liverpool in 1912. Thomas John Hughes started the business on Liverpool's London Road after an apprenticeship with Owen Owen, ...

; opened June 2012, closed June 2013) *

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

(formerly Westgate; acquired May 2011, closed February 2020) *

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and close to the Exmoor National Park. T ...

, Bealesons (formerly Floyds; acquired 1978, closed 1982) *

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, Tobys (sold 1982) *

Parkstone Parkstone is an area of Poole, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It is divided into 'Lower' and 'Upper' Parkstone. Upper Parkstone – "Up-on-'ill" as it used to be known in ...

(home furnishings; formerly Mews; closed July 1993) *

, Yeatmans (funeral services; sold 1990) *

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

(formerly

McEwens McEwens (originally known as James McEwen & Co.) was a department store located in the Scottish city of Perth. Specialising in homeware, it was established in March 1868, and was in business for nearly 150 years. It closed in March 2016, along w ...

; acquired 2017, closed March 2020) *

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

(formerly Westgate; acquired May 2011, closed 18 March 2020, reopened May 2021, closed January 2023) *

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

(

Dolphin Shopping Centre The Dolphin Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in Poole, Dorset, England, formerly known as the Arndale Centre. The shopping centre adjoins Poole Bus Station. History and development In 1957 discussions began about creating a covered in shop ...

; originally opened 1969 as a Bealesons store, closed 18 March 2020, reopened 3 August 2020, closed May 2025) *

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority. It is in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, and is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdiv ...

(formerly Westgate; acquired May 2011) *

(formerly Whitakers, preceded by Westgate and originally Sunwin House; acquired September 2010, closed August 2016) *

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...

(formerly Westgate, preceded by Eaden Lilley and originally Emson Tanner & Co.; acquired May 2011, closed December 2016) *

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

(franchise; closed 1992) *

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 21,128 as of 2021 ...

(formerly Westgate; acquired May 2011, closed 18 March 2020) *

(formerly Westgate, preceded by Sunwin House; acquired May 2011, closed November 2012) *

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

(formerly Broadbents & Boothroyds and originally Boothroyds; acquired August 1993, closed 18 March 2020, reopened 12 August 2021, closed September 2024) * Spalding (formerly Westgate; acquired May 2011) *

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

(formerly Westgate; acquired May 2011, closed 18 March 2020) *

(formerly Bentalls, acquired 2002) *

(formerly Grant Warden and originally Campbell & Booker; acquired 1979, closed January 2006) *

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

(opened March 1991, closed August 2016) *

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and ...

(formerly Westgate, acquired May 2011) *

(formerly Bentalls and originally Bentall & Sons; acquired 2002) *

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

(formerly Denners; acquired 1999, closed 18 March 2020)

References

External links

Beales website
{{UK Department stores Companies based in Bournemouth Department stores of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1881 Retail companies established in 1881 Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom British companies disestablished in 2020

History

Early 21st-century expansion

2020 closure and reopening

Locations

Former locations

See also

References

External links