The owner of Liverpool’s iconic Lewis’s store has completed the deal to purchase 12 stores from the East of England Co-operative Society.

Vergo Retail, which already runs four department stores including Lewis’s, first announced its plans to buy the stores last month.

The department stores are in Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Clacton-on-Sea and Great Yarmouth. It is also buying six home furnishing stores in Suffolk and Essex and a jewellers in Colchester.

Vergo Retail’s managing director David Thompson said: “We are delighted that the deal to take over the operation of these stores has been concluded successfully.

“These stores are a really good match for our existing business, both in terms of their customer profile and also the fact that many of them are similar in that they are important, longstanding retail features in the towns and cities that they serve.”

Vergo also bought four Homemaker stores in Devon and Cornwall in March, which doubled the group’s size. Today’s acquisition sees the firm more than double in size again.

Mr Thompson added: “We know the current economic climate is challenging for all retailers, but as an independent company we still have to look to the future and we need to seize any positive opportunities to grow our business.

“By taking advantage of increased buying power and economies of scale we aim to establish ourselves in a much stronger position to reap the benefits of any future upturn in the economy.

“2009 is certainly proving to be an eventful year for us but I am very optimistic that this is another really positive step forward for our company.”