THE future prospects for hundreds of employees at the Debenhams store in Basildon look bleak after it was announced today that the company's brand has been bought - but not its shops.

Fashion retailer Boohoo has bought the Debenhams name and website for £55m.

However, it will not take on any of the firm's remaining 118 High Street stores, including the one at Lakeside, or its workforce.

The 242-year-old Debenhams chain is already in the process of closing down, after administrators failed to secure a rescue deal for the business.

A closing-down sale began in December, as the administrators continued to seek offers for all or parts of the business but it appears the Manchester-based Boohoo deal was the only one on the table.

The administrators of Debenhams UK, FRP Advisory, said they had undertaken a "thorough and robust process" to achieve "the best outcome for Debenhams' stakeholders".

Geoff Rowley, joint administrator for Debenhams and partner of FRP Advisory, said: "We are pleased to have secured the future for this great brand, and to have created the opportunity for a new Debenhams-branded business to emerge in a different shape beyond the pandemic.

"I expect that the agreement with Boohoo may provide some job opportunities but we regret that this outcome does not safeguard the jobs of Debenhams' employees beyond the winding-down period."