AN HISTORIC department store has been snapped up at auction with a well known local company taking the reins.

Portmeirion Shops has bought historic Porthmadog department store Kerfoots with plans to reopen the site next year, creating new jobs for the town.

Liquidators were called into the business in August and the shop ceased to trade after more than 140 years.

The site went up for auction this week and was bought for £325,000.

Now it has been revealed that Portmeirion are the new owners. They now plan to reopen the site as a shop and a cafe.

Robin Llywelyn, managing director at Portmeirion, said: “The directors of Portmeirion Shops Ltd today confirmed that the company had bought Kerfoots, Stryd Fawr, Porthmadog.

“The shop will be opened in spring 2019 as a ground floor retail unit and first floor café.

“This development will not effect Siop Portmeirion, 51 Stryd Fawr, Porthmadog or Caffi Portmeirion, Stryd Fawr, Porthmadog.

“New job opportunities will be created as a result of this development.”

The store had been at the heart of the High Street since 1874.

Its closure shocked the town and saw 22 staff made redundant with little or no warning.

A sign in the store said the business had been hit by a decline in footfall, “extreme” overheads, and online competition.

Gwynedd councillor Selwyn Griffiths was delighted that the shop had been purchased and hoped the new store would act as a magnet for other businesses to open in the area.

“I am very pleased that the iconic building Kerfoots has been sold to another iconic company in our area, Portmeirion,” he said.

“It has been a shame to see this large building in the centre of our town being empty after so many years of trading.

“We can now look forward to seeing it being rebranded and open again in the spring.