THE gloomy news from Beales starts this week's round-up of the top business stories you need to know about.

 

1. Administrators who have been working to save Beales are preparing to close all 23 of its department stores within weeks unless talks result in a buyer being secured. That means more than 1,000 job losses.

 

Bournemouth Echo:

2. Several potential buyers are said to be interested in Bournemouth's loans company Amigo, which was put up for sale last month amid a crackdown from regulators.

 

Bournemouth Echo:

3. The tech sector is set to expand, but the difficulty of finding enough talent could be a brake on that growth. We revealed the skills the industry needs the most.

 

Bournemouth Echo:

4. Marks & Spencer has withdrawn the food range it had put into WH Smith's central Bournemouth branch following the closure of the big M&S in Commercial Road.

 

Bournemouth Echo:

5. And Michael Portillo told an audience of Bournemouth lawyers about his most humiliating moment