Ulster Stores make £1m Welsh expansion

Coleraine-based Ulster Stores has bought a major department store in Llandudno, Wales.

In its first-ever acquisition outside of Northern Ireland, Ulster Stores, a family-run business established in 1925, paid £1.43 million for Clare's department store.

The company operates retail outlets across Northern Ireland, including the Captain Cooks chain of specialist cookery shops and the Whitehouse Portrush, on the north east coast close to the Giant's Causeway.

However it is probably best known for Moores of Coleraine, one of the areas leading department stores. Commenting on the acquisition, Neville Moore, son of the original founder of Ulster Stores, said: "We were attracted to Clare's partly because of its heritage and family background but also because of what we can bring to the business. We feel there is substantial potential in Llandudno and will be investing £500,000 in a refurbishment programme. This is an exciting new chapter in the history of Clare's."

The deal will secure the future of Clare's – which has been run by the Clare family for many years – and the jobs of the 30 staff employed in the resort.

(MB)