ADMINISTRATORS at collapsed Liverpool department store chain Vergo Retail are closing nine stores with the loss of more than 300 jobs.

Vergo, which had already announced it was closing iconic Liverpool store Lewis’s, went into administration last week.

Now nine of its remaining stores have been “deemed to be loss-making” and will close within four weeks, with 335 redundancies.

Sarah Bell, partner at administrators MCR, says a sale of the stricken stores has not yet been ruled out.

She said last night: “Following a financial review of the business, it was apparent it could not continue to trade in the short term without implementing immediate cost saving measures.

“Regrettably, this means that 335 positions have been made redundant with effect from today.

“There is an opportunity for interested parties to come forward and rescue the remaining business as a going concern.”

The stores closing include those in Sunderland, Hexham and Norwich.

Vergo announced in February that Lewis’s would close by the middle of the year, with the loss of almost 300 jobs. Ms Bell said yesterday that it would close within the next four weeks.

Vergo’s remaining 10 stores will continue to trade while MCR hunts for a buyer.