The fate of Kent's two Joules stores has been revealed.

The troubled fashion brand is set to shut 19 shops across the country after falling into administration.

A total of 133 jobs will be axed after the chain was bought by rival Next and original founder Tom Joule.

Next had previously said it plans to continue to run about 100 of Joules’s 124 stores and transfer over around 1,450 shop and head office workers.

The deal left the shops in Ashford and Whitstable at risk – with both only having been open since 2019.

Thankfully for Kent shoppers, both stores have been spared the chop.

Joules has been bought for £34 million, with Next also snapping up Joules’s head office in Market Harborough for £7 million.

The deal will see Next own a 74% stake in the business, with Tom Joule owning the remaining 26%.

Next said most Joules staff will remain with the business in the long term and confirmed plans to shift Joules on to its Next Total platform system.

Tom Joule said: “After three years away from the operational side, I’m truly looking forward to inspiring teams with clear direction to excite and recapture the imagination of the customer again.

“I’m so pleased that we have been able to strike a deal that protects the future of the company for all its loyal customers, its employees and also for the town of Market Harborough, which have been so central to Joules’s success.”

Will Wright, joint administrator and head of restructuring at Interpath, said: “We are pleased to have concluded this transaction, which secures the future of this great British brand, as well as safeguarding a significant number of jobs.

“To have achieved this in such a short timetable is testament to the support we’ve received from employees, suppliers and other key stakeholders throughout the administration process, so we’d like to express our profound thanks to everyone involved.”

Next chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson said: “We are excited to see what can be achieved through the combination of Joules’s exceptional product, marketing and brand building skills with Next’s Total Platform infrastructure.”

Next recently bought the brand, websites and intellectual property of online furniture business Made.com after it also collapsed.

The administration resulted in 320 redundancies, while a further 79 workers who had resigned and were working their notice were forced to immediately leave.