TOYS "R" US in Bolton is 'likely' to close next year after the company announced it was cutting at least 26 of its stores in the UK, with a loss of up to 800 jobs.

Today the company announced its intention to restructure as it was making a loss and said warehouse-style stores were too big and expensive to run.

Staff at the store in Trinity Retail Park have been told about the closure, though the brand intends to redeploy staff where possible.

A spokesman for Toys "R" Us, said: "It’s likely the Bolton store will close in the spring of 2018.

"It’s important to note it will continue to trade as normal through Christmas and well into the New Year.

"We will honour gift cards, pay agreements and there will be no change to the returns policy."

There are 3,200 Toys "R" Us employees in the UK and between 500 and 800 jobs are expected to go, though the company is making efforts to redeploy staff elsewhere.

Steve Knights, managing director, said: "All of our stores across the UK remain open for business as normal through Christmas and well into the New Year. Customers can also continue to shop online and there will be no changes to our returns policies or gift cards across this period.

"Like many UK retailers in today’s market environment, we need to transform our business so that we have a platform that can better meet customers’ evolving needs.

"The decision to propose this Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) was a difficult one, but we determined it is the best path forward to make essential changes to the business.

"Our newer, smaller, more interactive stores are in the right shopping locations and are trading well, while our new website has generated significant growth in online and click-and-collect sales. But the warehouse-style stores we opened in the 1980s and 1990s, while successful in the early days, are too big and expensive to run in the current retail environment.

"The business has been lossmaking in recent years and so we need to take strong and decisive action to accelerate the transformation."

The stores are closing as part of a CVA to improve the state of the company financially in the UK.

The restructuring plan has been submitted to the company's creditors and 75 per cent of them must agree to the proposals and they must be declared effective.

The changes plan to make the UK's stores more cost efficient and better suit the needs of customers.

Dave Brandon, chairman and chief executive officer, said: "As we continued to work through the financial restructuring process, we made the decision to take action to put our UK operation on stronger financial footing.

"Through the CVA process, we hope to receive authorization to restructure our UK lease obligations so that we will be better able to invest in our UK business and further improve the customer experience. Importantly, our stores and operations in our other global markets will not be impacted by this process.

"We are confident that we are taking the right steps to ensure that the iconic Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us brands live on for many generations in the UK and around the world.

"We remain committed to championing play for kids and serving as a trusted resource and friend for parents around the world.

"Today’s proactive measure better positions us to achieve these goals and ensures customers can continue to shop us with confidence over the Holiday season and beyond."

The plans are not expected to affect customers in the run up to Christmas.

In September the company filed for bankruptcy in the USA and Canada.