Hairdressing group Toni & Guy is to close four of its salons in Ireland with the loss of 35 jobs, it has confirmed.
In a statement this evening, Toni & Guy Ireland Ltd, said its salons in Cork, Kilkenny, Dame St and Essensuals on South William St in Dublin, have ceased trading.
The directors will be calling an EGM and a meeting with the creditors at which a liquidator will be appointed and these companies will be wound down.
Tony & Guy had operated a total of 13 salons employing 250 staff, many on a franchise basis.
The company said overheads and in particular high rents and salaries, combined with current economic climate were the primary factors that had led to the decision.
The 35 workers who will lose their jobs have been "invited to apply for a number of jobs available across the other salons" within the group in Galway, Waterford, Naas, Clarendon Street, Dundrum, Malahide, Blackrock, Sandymount and Lisburn Road in Belfast, the company said.
It said customers who had vouchers could use them across the remaining nine salons.
In 2007 an examiner was appointed to Toni & Guy Ireland. The company was restructured when the Toni and Guy Group, the UK parent, took a 50 per cent interest in the Irish operation.
The hairdresser was founded in London in 1963 by brothers Guiseppe and Gaetano Mascolo.