Home shopping retailer Shop Direct is planning to close call centres in Preston and Worcester, putting jobs at risk. It has appointed Serco to deliver its customer contact programme and will invest in new technology. Calls to contact centres have fallen, while online sales have grown to account for 75% of total sales. 1,800 employees will tranfer to Serco, which will move some work overseas.

Shop Direct is to close its call centre in Preston, which employs 600 people. Serco will take over the call centre operation. Although some staff will be transferred to Serco, some of the call centre operations will be moved overseas.

International service company Secro has signed a new 5 year contract with Ideal Shopping, valued at £17m. The contract will employ 160 people with existing members of staff in Peterborough transferring to Serco. As well as protecting the existing jobs, 40 new jobs will be brought into the city within the first 12 months. Mike Hancox is CEO .

Home Retail Group recorded a 60% fall in profits to 102m for the year to February 2012, with profits falling at both Argos and Homebase. The group is prioritising future investment into multi-channel capabilities, including online, and may close some Argos and Homebase stores, putting jobs at risk.