Brighton's oldest department store is to close.

London-based Regina Estates Ltd will buy Hanningtons, in North Street, next year.

Details of the closure have yet to be finalised but the store is expected to continue trading well into 2001.

The amount of the deal has not been disclosed.

However, would-be buyers were given a price tag of £23.5 million upwards for the freehold of the store and other family-owned buildings when they went on the market in June.

Hanningtons' board says Regina intends to retain the property for long-term investment.

Derek Hunnisett, chairman and managing director of South Bank Estates Ltd, said: "The family has owned Hanningtons for over 30 years and they now feel the time is right to allow someone with greater resources to develop the potential of the property."

Hanningtons is the oldest department store in Brighton and vies with the Co-op in London Road for the honour of being the largest.

It was founded in 1808 by Mr Smith Hannington 'to serve the Quality with silks and satins'.

The shop in 1808 was modest and North Street was a muddy track but business was soon booming thanks to Brighton's ascent as a fashionable resort.

In the 1980s, however, the store hit hard times.

It found it increasingly difficult to compete with rivals, especially those being established out of town with lower prices and free parking.

A plan to redevelop part of the North Street frontage with new shopping and offices did not go ahead.

Modernising the rest of the store, a rabbit warren of buildings on different levels, proved difficult because of planning and conservation constraints.

As the recession bit hard, Hanningtons axed ten per cent of its 250 staff but this did not stem the financial problems.

Rumours were rife about the store's eventual closure but it proclaimed publicly that it was well placed to weather difficulties.

Brighton town centre manager Tony Mernagh, said: "It will be quite sad if Hanningtons is lost as it has been part of the town for so long and because Brighton has relatively few department stores.

"It is possible the store will be broken up into separate units, which is how it was originally, and this could actually improve the shopping facilities in North Street.

"Whatever happens I hope the Hanningtons name will be retained under the new owners."

Read the full story on today's announcement in tonight's Evening Argus.