Austins (department store)

Former department store in Derry

For the department store in Devon, see Austins, Newton Abbot.

Austins department store, 2007

Austins was a department store in the Diamond area of Derry in Northern Ireland. The store was established in 1830 and, until 2016, remained standing as the world's oldest independent department store.[1] The building measures 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) and is five stories high, with an Edwardian-style baroque exterior built in 1906 by MA Robinson after the original building was destroyed by fire. The Austins Department store building in the Diamond was owned by the City Hotel Group, but the actual retail operation was leased to Hassonzender, which went into liquidation.

The department store closed its doors to staff and the public without warning on 8 March 2016.

[2][3] The liquidators state that the unforeseen costs of dealing with asbestos, and the disruption to trading this would have entailed, proved to be a stumbling block to attracting investment and this led to the sudden closure. Derry City Council officials raised the issue of dealing with the asbestos following the introduction of new regulations, in the Spring of 2015.

In March 2025, 9 years after it closed to the public and staff, the building was bought by the Inner City Trust (ICT) for £1.2 million, which was funded by the Northern Ireland government in Stormont. The building was announced to go under "immediate restoration work" in March 2025. On 2 July 2025, it was announced by the Derry Journal that representatives of the Inner City Trust (ICT) were "hopeful" that they would have "good news" about the future development of Austins later in 2025.

There is no official re-opening date, or no confirmation that Austins will reopen as a department store again.

[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Hasson, Declan. "Austins in brief – the world's oldest independent department store". austinsstore.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
2. ^ Allan, Claire (8 March 2016). "Austins: Jobs fear as Ireland's oldest department store closes its doors". Derry Journal. Retrieved 8 March 2016. "DUP MLA Gary Middleton told the Journal that staff had been called to a meeting this morning to be told the store would cease trading with immediate effect and that their P45s were being prepared."
3. ^ "What next for Austins in Derry?". BBC Radio Foyle. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.( Page will play audio when loaded)
4. ^ McDaid, Brendan (1 April 2016). "Asbestos issues 'undermined' Austins investment". Derry Journal. Retrieved 20 March 2017.

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