Beales closes final store after 140 years amid tax rises

Beales is set to close its last remaining department store as it winds down the business after more than 140 years.
The retailer, which first opened in Bournemouth in 1881, will shutter its store in Poole’s Dolphin Centre at the end of May.
Chief executive Tony Brown told The Telegraph that upcoming increases to employers’ National Insurance contributions and minimum wage announced in Labour’s first fiscal Budget last year meant the business had become “unviable”.
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