Around 400 jobs are being axed at home maintenance and insurance firm Homeserve after the group today said it was shutting its two property repair businesses.

The group is now in consultation with affected staff after deciding to close the loss-making divisions Homeserve Property Repairs in Nottingham and Anglia in Dyserth, North Wales.

Homeserve had previously looked at the sale of the two firms as part of review launched earlier this year.

The businesses were hit by the loss of a major contract, as well as ongoing challenging conditions amid the recession.

Homeserve last month announced the sale of its wider emergency repairs division to management, with financial backing from Lloyds Banking Group, for £1.1m.

The two firms were the remaining parts of the emergency repairs division, which largely serviced the insurance sector – an area that has been hit hard by the housing market downturn and recession.

The cost of the closure will total around £15m, not including the operating losses already suffered by the firms.

But Homeserve stressed its “core membership operations continue to perform well” and were not impacted by the proposed closure of property repairs.

The job losses represent around 10% of Homeserve’s 4,000-strong workforce.

In a reorganisation late last year, the company made a small reduction in headcount as part of efforts to save £5 million.

The firm operates across the UK, continental Europe and the United States.