A TOWN CENTRE store has been saved after menswear retailer Greenwoods was bought out of administration.

The Yorkshire suit shop chain dates backs to 1860, with 63 stores across the UK.

It went into administration last month - putting the future of the stores and nearly 320 workers under threat.

Today it was announced the group has been bought by Versatile International Trading Limited.

The shop on Bridge Street, St Helens is among 40 that have been saved.

A spokesman said: "The Joint Administrators are pleased to announce the sale of the business and assets of Greenwoods Menswear Limited to Versatile International Trading Limited on the 20 October 2017.

"The sale will see 40 retail stores, the central warehouse and head office functions transferring to the buyer and will protect the jobs of 181 employees.

"The remaining 22 stores will close immediately, resulting in 88 redundancies. This follows the prior closure of two unstaffed concessions and one store (Rugby) at an earlier stage of the administration."

Joint Administrators Adrian Berry said: "This sale represents the best outcome for the business, which has been trading in administration for over six weeks.

"A significant proportion of the employees now have their jobs protected and we would like to thank all of them for their support during this difficult period.”