Thorntons: All the stores set to close- including two in Essex

CHOCOLATE maker Thorntons is set to permanently close all of its UK stores, with a number of them on Essex high streets.

The decision to close 61 shops will put more than 600 jobs at risk after the retailer said it has been hit hard by the pandemic.

It said it has seen sales surge online and will invest in its grocery supply business as part of the shake-up of its operations.

Among the list to close are two Essex stores- in Braintree Village and High Chelmer, Chelmsford.

The company, which was founded in Sheffield in 1911, was bought by Italian food giant Ferrero in 2015 for £112 million.

Here are the 61 stores that have been earmarked for closure:

Two Thorntons stores in Essex set to close