120 stores to be closed in merger

The Orange/T-Mobile joint venture is result in the closure of 120 retail stores across the UK.

The figure was released as part of the companies' presentation following the joint venture announcement on Tuesday.

Orange currently has 433 stores across the UK, while T-Mobile has 300. Company heads confirmed that 120 of these would close, although it was not clear which would come from which network. The remaining retail estate would amount to 613 stores.

The rationalisation of overlap in premium locations is to save both companies around £35 million per year, while a reduction in distribution costs is to amount at around £50 million per year.

However, implementation costs of around £65 million are to be spread over the 2012 and 2013 period to be absorbed by termination costs of closed shops and refurbishment costs of existing stores.

The companies are also expected to save 30 per cent as a result of combining marketing costs - £40 million in 2012 and around £60 million per year from 2014.

Overall costs saved are expected to amount to around £3.5 billion.