MOTHERCARE IRELAND HAS said that its operations are not affected by this morning’s announcement that 50 Mothercare stores in the UK are set to close.

The baby and maternity retailer has said that over 50 British outlets will be closed as part of a refinancing and restructuring plan. The stores are expected to close within a year.

Mothercare UK also announced that it will reinstate its former CEO Mark Newton-Jones (fired last month, according to the Guardian) as part of those survival measures.

In the wake of those reports, Mothercare Ireland has clarified that it is a separately owned and family-run business that has been operating in Ireland for 26 years.

The business was started by David Ward in 1992 and is now run by his two sons Jonathan and Ben, and daughter Laura.

Jonathan Ward Managing Director of Mothercare Ireland said:

“Mothercare UK have this morning released their refinancing and UK store restructuring plan.

Mothercare Ireland is a completely separate company and as a result, our 15 Irish stores are unaffected by any plans in the proposal and will continue to trade as normal.

Mothercare have stores in Ireland in Cork, Galway, Kerry, Sligo and Limerick as well as five stores in Dublin.