Liverpool's Lewis's store name goes on sale
The name of Liverpool's Lewis's department store has been put up for sale.
The store, which was founded in 1856 by David Lewis and had branches across England and one in Glasgow, closed its original Liverpool shop in May 2010.
The building on Ranelagh Street is to become a hotel, offices and shops.
The Lewis's brand is expected to draw interest from retailers wanting to launch on high streets in the North West.
'Heritage and nostalgia'
Brand names that have been sold on after the business ceased to trade include MFI, which was later bought for £250,000.
Stephen Robertson, of agent Metis Partners, which is handling the sale, said: "A buyer could put the name on the high street and put it above a shop.
"You could expect that having that name there could mean that someone walking by would recognise it and therefore may walk into the shop rather than the one next to it - and there's value in that."
Nick Howe, who helped to create Brand Liverpool to market the city at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, said: "It's not going to be a grand high street return as it's not a Woolworths or a Butlins, but there's definitely a sense of heritage and nostalgia tied up with the brand equity on a local and regional level."