More than 100 jobs created by £4.5m Home Bargains store opening

The Home Bargains store, off Great Western Way in Swindon, will create 110 new jobs

More than 100 new jobs have been created by the opening of a discount retailer's £4.5m store in Swindon.

Home Bargains opened its new shop, which is located off Great Western Way, north of the town centre, earlier.

It says the site will employ 130 staff, with 110 new jobs and 20 workers transferring from other local stores.

"We have managed to build a new team of 130 colleagues providing important jobs in the community at a difficult time," said store manager, Yulia Garbatiuk.

Home Bargains has more than 575 outlets across the UK

Home Bargains said it would donate £2,000 to local charity, the Swindon Food Collective, which distributes donated food to those in need.

A charity spokesperson said: "The donation from Home Bargains is very appreciated and will go towards enabling the Swindon Food Collective to meet the ever-increasing demand for food for those people who are facing a crisis at this time.

"With this support, we will rise to this challenge and work positively to help as many people as we can."

The 40,042 sq ft store will house a café, bakery and garden centre, and replaces the former TK Maxx store which used to stand on the site.

Home Bargains regional manager Darren Harrison told BBC Radio Wiltshire it was great to be able to offer jobs to people from all walks of life.

"We've got people from Empire Cinema which sadly closed a short time ago and people in their first jobs.

"Swindon is a great site for us, it's always been a busy town," he added.

Rival's struggles

The opening comes a short time after rival budget homeware chain Wilko collapsed into administration, putting 12,500 jobs and 400 stores at risk.

Wilko has been struggling with sharp losses and a cash shortage and has faced strong competition from rival chains like B&M, Poundland, The Range and Home Bargains, as the high cost of living has pushed shoppers to seek out bargains.

Many of its 400 stores are located in High Streets where costs are generally higher, whereas its competitors are often found in retail parks.