Jessops is set to cut 50 jobs at its head office in Leicester following a month-long consultation process, according to chairman David Adams.

The news came as the store announced the closure of 17 Jessops stores in a move expected to lead to the loss of 130 staff.

Most of the shops due for closure are located in Scotland.

Adams told Amateur Photographer that the cutbacks were needed to maintain Jessops as a viable business and satisfy its bankers.

He said that Jessops will not be embarking on a programme of ‘death by a thousand cuts’, where it closes more stores until it ends up with nothing.

‘We wouldn’t be doing this if there wasn’t a good business model to go for,’ he said, adding that if Jessops halved its store total, for example, it would no longer be of importance to ‘key suppliers’.

The store closures will leave the chain with 210 shops.