154 years of retail history to end on Saturday

CLOSING down sales at 19 of Vergo Retail’s stores began today as administrators announced Lewis’s in Liverpool will close on Saturday.

Lewis’s, Liverpool’s oldest department store founded 154 years ago, was due to shut next month to make way for a new development.

But Vergo’s trading problems have brought that deadline forward and the shop will be open for business for the last time on Saturday. Some 65 staff will lose their jobs at the shop.

Administrators Sarah Bell and Steven Muncaster said they are continuing negotiations with potential buyers for Vergo’s assets.

The Liverpool-based business was established in 2007 and employs 942 staff across 20 outlets. To date, a total of 341 employees have been made redundant across the business and one store in Essex has been closed.

The shops are spread throughout the country, located in the North East, Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and the south coast. Vergo is controlled by David Thompson, a former director at Mothercare, BHS and MK One.

The administrators said: “Discussions are ongoing with a number of different parties wishing to acquire part or all of the business. This process is being run in parallel with a discount sale in order to generate sufficient cash to fund the business in the short term.

“Unless a purchaser can be found for the whole business, further store closures during the coming weeks cannot be ruled out.”