CROUCH End shoppers mourning the loss of the Woolworths brand will be able to buy selected items online – after the name was bought by another UK retailer. Shop Direct – owner of brands such as the Littlewoods catalogue – plans to launch the shop online

CROUCH End shoppers mourning the loss of the Woolworths brand will be able to buy selected items online - after the name was bought by another UK retailer.

Shop Direct - owner of brands such as the Littlewoods catalogue - plans to launch the shop online this summer after acquiring the brand name for an undisclosed sum.

It has also bought the Ladybird clothing brand.

The move brings the much-loved brand under the control of the Barclay brothers - Sir David and Sir Frederick - who own Shop Direct and The Daily Telegraph.

Shop Direct's chief executive, Mark Newton-Jones, said: "We are delighted to be relaunching the Woolworths name online.

"It is a much-loved brand that engenders huge affection among British consumers and is an important part of the country's retail heritage.

"In what will be its 100th year, we are proud to be reviving the brand for future generations.

"This is great news and we are confident that Woolworths - as an online brand - will once again prosper and, quite rightly, stay at the heart of British retailing."

The chain was forced into administration late last year after plunging sales and mounting debts - with the loss of 27,000 jobs.

The Crouch End store - one of 807 to close - shut its doors on January 6. It is unknown what will replace it.

The Muswell Hill Broadway branch closed on January 8.