New owners for department store

The Westgate department store in Rochdale town centre has been bought by department store firm Beales.

The company is reported to be paying £300,000 to the Anglia Regional Co-operative Society for the assets and has signed a 25-year lease on the premises

A statement on Beales website reads: “We are extremely pleased to announce that today we have signed contracts for the purchase of the assets of Westgate Department Store in Rochdale.

“This new addition to the Beales family of stores follows just two months after our purchase of Robbs Department Store in Hexham. We already operate three department stores in the North West: Bolton, Southport and Kendal.

“We are impressed with Rochdale's town centre plan and the new planned transport links and believe the ownership of the store will provide the people of Rochdale with a better mix of shopping in the town than the current predominance of discount retailers.”

This purchase takes the Beales family of stores up to thirteen. The contractual completion date is 5 September 2010.

A spokesperson for the Westgate Department Store was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.