A CLAMPDOWN on rent-to-own retailers has led to the closure of a Basingstoke store.

Brighthouse, one of the UK's largest weekly payment retailers, which sells electricals, computing, appliances and home furnishings, is set to close 30 stores nationwide.

The firm is closing 10 per cent of its estate, including the Malls store, which will close its doors on March 23.

Nationally, Brighthouse employs around 3,000 people.

A spokesman from Brighthouse said: "We are working to redeploy as many people as possible into alternative roles but redundancies will be inevitable."

Last year, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced plans to cap the amount of interest that rent-to-own retailers charged customers.

Rent-to-own customers make monthly payments on a product such as a cooker or a television until they have paid for it in full.

The Brighthouse spokesman added: “We will be speaking to all customers affected by the store closures and either transferring them to another local store or serving them online.

"We're also introducing PayPoint, allowing customers to pay BrightHouse in cash at 28,000 locations across the UK."