New era of growth vow for staff with discount retailer in Peterborough

A new era has dawned for scores of staff working for a retailer in Peterborough and the surrounding area.

Discount retailer Poundstretcher, which has three stores in the city and nearby towns, has just been bought by a new owner that is promising investment and jobs growth for the business.

Poundstretcher, which has 322 stores across the country including one called Bargain Buys in the Rivergate Centre, Peterborough, and at Godsey Lane, Market Deeping, and Markham Retail Park, Stamford, has been acquired by the Fortress Investment Group.

The purchase of the Leicester-based retailer follows the retirement of its owner Aziz Tayub.

Ahsan Aijaz, managing director of Fortress Investment Group, which also owns wine retailer Majestic Wine and the Punch Pubs Group, said: “Poundstretcher is an exciting business in a critical part of the UK retail sector, and we recognise its importance to consumers across the country.

"We have a demonstrated history of investing in sponsored companies to drive growth, increase profitability and job creation—our plans for Poundstretcher are no different.

" Fortress believes in empowering management teams to deliver their strategy and we look forward to working with the team to invest in and grow Poundstretcher.”

Andy Atkinson, chief executive of Poundstretcher, said: “Poundstretcher is an exciting business with huge potential, in a large, growing and resilient sector.

"We are committed to being long term stewards of the business, investing to grow Poundstretcher and build on the great work established by Aziz and his team.”