ZARA is to close its Basingstoke store permanently, the Gazette can confirm. 

The Spanish fashion giant has confirmed it will be shutting down its Festival Place branch for good. 

The news comes after the owner of Zara has closed 3,785 stores globally following the outbreak of coronavirus.

Inditex, the owner of the high street retailer, previously warned in March that the pandemic has had a "very significant impact" on its operations.

A spokesperson from Zara said: "I can confirm the store will permanently close as part of the company’s ongoing store optimization plan to focus on larger stores in key locations."

The group, which also runs retailers including Pull & Bear and Bershka, said it has been forced to temporarily close stores in 39 markets across the globe.

Group sales tumbled by 24.1 per cent in the first two weeks of March as it was impacted by the raft of store closures.