THE sale of one of Blackpool's prime shop sites - the former Food Giant in Dickson Road - is expected by the end of the month.

The supermarket, which became Kwiksave (part of the Somerfield group) last year, closes on April 26 in preparation for transfer to a new Somerfield store in South Shore, opening on May 19.

A Kwiksave spokeswoman said: "We are in negotiation with a non-food retailer for the sale of the Dickson Road site. An agreement is imminent but we cannot say exactly when."

Rumours have circulated about the identity of the buyer, but until the deal is sealed, Kwiksave is staying tight-lipped. T.J. Hughes, the discount department store chain was a rumoured contender, but a company spokesman said: "We're not involved in any negotiations for a Blackpool site at the moment, although that's not to say we're not interested in coming to the town in the future."

Meanwhile, the Dickson Road store's 98 staff are preparing to move jobs or take redundancy - 60 are being relocated to the new Lytham Road store, which will have a petrol station and free 110-space car park, the rest offered relocation to other Kwiksave/Somerfield outlets or redundancy.

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