Fixtures sold off at Liverpool department store Lewis's

Fixtures and fittings from Liverpool's oldest department store are being sold off before it closes its doors for the final time.

Lewis's, which has been part of the city's fabric for 150 years, shuts for good on Saturday.

The owners of the landmark building, on Ranelagh Street, plan to turn it into a hotel, office and retail complex.

And although it is being hailed as a sad day, managers said there was still time to "bag a bargain".

Once closed, construction work will start to convert the building into a mix of offices, a 125-bed boutique hotel and new shopping and leisure space.

Developer Merepark has given assurances that the Liverpool Resurgent statue at the entrance will be retained.

But fixtures and fittings, some of them dating back to the 1950s on the unused fifth floor, are being sold.

In a statement, the management team said: "Throughout the years Lewis's has always had the endurance to survive, whether it was fire damage, two world wars - being severely damaged during the May blitz - the big dig and several recessions.

"But sadly this time the end really is here. We have closed off floors already as stock levels go down and all of our fixtures and fittings are now up for sale.

"A lot of our staff have been with us for many years, including several members or generations of the same family.

"All of our customers have been saying the same thing - how sad it will be for Liverpool to lose Lewis's as it's a store that has such a family atmosphere and many people have such happy memories of shopping here."

Lewis's department store was founded in 1856 by David Lewis and is one of the country's oldest surviving independent department stores.

It was burned down in 1886 and then bombed during World War II but was rebuilt in 1956.