Town’s last remaining independent store going under hammer

THE Grade II-listed Beales department store in Bolton – known for many years as Whitakers – is being auctioned off with a guide price of up to £1.1m.

The sale at real estate auctioneer Acuitus’s October 13 auction will take place at Radisson Blu Portman Hotel in London.

Currently, the store 66,518 sq ft store which is due to close early next year, is selling off stock at knock-down prices.
 
The original Whitakers store opened in 1829 was bought by Beales in 1996, with the name changed to Beales in 2011.

It is the last independent department stores left in Bolton town centre.

The company Beales, headquartered in Bournemouth, has 29 stores across the country.