Bookseller Waterstone's has today confirmed it is to close two branches in Dublin with the loss of 46 jobs.

The company said it is to shut its Jervis Street and Dawson Street branches on Sunday next.

A spokesman for Waterstone's said Hodges Figgis, which it also owns, is unaffected by the move.

The company, which also operates branches in Cork, Drogheda, Ballymena, Belfast, Coleraine and Newry, said it is to close a further nine stores in Britain. The stores affected are in Colchester, Worcester, Guildford, Stafford, Hemel Hempstead, Coventry, Tiverton, Luton and Chelmsford.

Overall, Waterstone's owns more than 300 stores in Ireland, the UK and continental Europe.

Today's announcement comes shortly after Waterstone's parent company HMV reported a 13.6 per cent slump in HMV's sales in UK and Ireland in the five weeks to January 1st and revealed it was struggling to meet the terms of a bank loan.

The company said last month it intended to close up to 50 stores across the group over the next 12 months.