Laura Ashley shares fall as it prepares to shutter 40 UK stores in fresh growth strategy

British fashion retailer Laura Ashley is preparing to close 40 more stores in the UK, as it looks eastward for further business growth.

The home furnishings chain, which is owned by Malaysian United Industries (MUI), has closed around 40 stores to date since 2015, and is set to double that.

MUI's freshly appointed executive chairman Andrew Khoo said the business would reduce its 160 stores in the UK to 120, but would mitigate against job losses by expanding those remaining.

He told reporters in Malaysia earlier this month that Laura Ashley would face some significant pushback over the next two years due to the UK's challenging retail environment. MUI will also be restructuring some divisions of its business and rationalising assets.

"The direction I want to go is to have not so many stores, but maybe the ones we have could be larger," he told Press Association. "It's more about showcasing the brand. It doesn't really matter if they buy online or offline, we just want them to get inspired."

"We're moving to Asia in a much bigger way. We have a regional office in Singapore, it's a dedicated office of about 10 people and it's focused purely on e-commerce into China.

"Once we get a significant foothold in digital retail in China we can look at the physical stores roll out."

British retailers have been struggling in the run up to Brexit, both online and on the high street. Today's news comes after shares in digital fashion darling Asos fell more than 35 per cent this morning, having warned investors of a "significant deterioration" in its pre-Christmas trading.

The move caused a knock-on effect for other European retailers, with shares in fellow online shopping destination Boohoo taking a 20 per cent hit before recovering slightly. Next, Zalando and H&M also suffered.

Shares in Laura Ashley fell more than seven per cent as markets opened this morning, but have since recovered to post an eight per cent rise on yesterday's close.

"It's a challenging environment and it could become more challenging," Khoo continued.

"My long-term view of the UK is I have confidence in the UK and we will continue to invest in the UK. As long as Laura Ashley stays relevant there's no reason we can't get over this little speed bump."

A Laura Ashley spokesperson said there has been no timetable set for the closures, nor has a list been prepared of possible stores.