The Poundland in the Isaac Newtown Shopping centre is to temporarily close after Saturday.

However, it's other Grantham branch in the Sankt Augustin Retail Park, which opened before Christmas, will remain open.

Poundland announced today that is placing 44 of its 800+ stores in 'temporary hibernation' to help safeguard the outlets through lockdown.

The company said as an essential retailer, the vast majority of stores will remain open for business. The temporary measure reflects the 80 per cent drop in footfall at some shopping centres and high streets as the various lockdown rules in place across the UK take effect.

The measures repeat what the company did during the first lockdown and as before, the move protects the business in the short-term, and helps ensure it's well positioned once the UK emerges from the pandemic.

In the first 2020 lockdown, Poundland hibernated around 120 stores in March and was able to start reopening them from the end of May.

Hibernation allows it to focus colleagues in a slightly smaller number of locations and provide better service to communities in consolidated stores. In most locations where Poundland is hibernating, there is another store that remains open nearby- in Grantham's case, the Sank Augustin Retail Park.

Where appropriate, colleagues in hibernating stores will be placed on furlough, protecting those roles for the future.

In a statement, the company added the 800 stores remaining open continue to have rigorous health and hygiene measures in place to protect colleagues and customers.

Any furloughed colleagues will retain their benefits and employment status and remain valued members of the team.

Austin Cooke, Poundland's retail director said: "We learned valuable lessons during the lockdown in March about how buying patterns change as people stick to government advice to stay at home.

"Putting a small number of stores into hibernation helps protect them for the long term and focus our attention on the majority of stores that remain open to serve their neighbourhoods.

"We hope this lockdown is short and we can re-open our