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Historic stores could be saved

THE future of the firm which is to close the doors of two historic North East department stores could be saved within two weeks, according to administrators.

Robbs of Hexham and Joplings in Sunderland were sold to Vergo Retail in 2007, but earlier this month the firm fell into administration, meaning the historic shops would be out of business.

Administrators MCR yesterday however refused to rule out the possibility a buyer may come in for Vergo in the next two weeks, saving the company from the business scrap heap.

An official spokesperson for the administrators said: “We are hopeful something can be resolved in the next couple of weeks.

“There is, however, still an opportunity for interested parties to come forward and rescue the remaining business.”

Vergo Retail operates from a head office in Liverpool, employing a total of 942 staff across 19 outlets.

These include nine significant department stores such as Lewis’s of Liverpool, Robbs of Hexham, Joplings of Sunderland and Derrys of Plymouth.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .