Tesco Metro in Elephant and Castle shopping centre has permanently closed months earlier than planned after struggling to fix a mouse infestation.
Last month’s shut down, originally thought to be a temporary measure, has now been made permanent as the supermarket says it cannot guarantee further outbreaks.
The loss will come as a blow to staff and customers who thought the retailer would continue operating for the next few months before the redevelopment.
A Tesco spokesperson told the News: “We have today announced to colleagues that we have taken the difficult decision to close our Elephant and Castle Metro store.
“Our priority now is to explain what this announcement means for our colleagues and wherever possible, offer them alternative roles with Tesco.
“We would like to thank all our customers who have shopped in our store and we will continue to do our best to serve them through our other local stores and dotcom service.”
Delancey, the owner and developer of the shopping centre, said it had ‘done all we possibly can’ to prevent the early closure.
“This is a business decision taken by Tesco that we regrettably cannot control,” a spokesperson told the News.
“Losing Tesco is a real loss to the centre and we have done all we possibly can to try to keep Tesco trading.
“Our centre management team have remained in constant contact with Tesco to offer support and assistance to rectify the issue.
“However, the decision to close has been made by Tesco’s head office.
“Ensuring the shopping centre remains a safe and welcoming environment for our tenants and their customers is our number one priority, and we will continue to support all traders following the closure of Tesco.”
Used to live in the area I believe tesco in Kennington is being refurbished they will start lose a lot of customers never to return if not careful.
The wrecking ball swings ever closer! A big thank you to all the mice for accelerating the demolition of the shopping centre.