Independent department store group Morleys Stores has acquired family-owned independent department store Pearsons.

Pearsons operates two stores, in Enfield in North London and Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire, and brings Morley’s total store portfolio to eight.

Morleys owns independently branded department stores across south-east England, including London stores Elys of Wimbledon, Morleys in Brixton and Bodgers in Ilford. Two of its stores operate under the Morleys fascia.

Morleys executive chairman Bernard Dreesmann said the deal “represents a perfect strategic and geographical fit.  We look forward to welcoming the staff of Pearsons into the Morleys Group.”

It is not known whether the Pearson family will remain at the business or how much Morleys has paid.

A spokeswoman for Pearsons said the deal would guarantee the development of the business as well as offering “security and opportunity for all those that work within it”.

Pearsons was founded in 1903 by Arthur and Stanley Pearson and has been run by the family since then. Morleys was founded in 1897.

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