Goods were loaded into trucks parked outside Debenhams department store in Ledra Street in Nicosia on Monday morning, and by lunch time the beauty department, as well as another floor containing clothes, had largely been emptied.

The prices of the remaining clothes and other items, which have been sold at reduced prices for weeks, have been slashed further.

However, Monday was not the last day the shop, which has long been a landmark of Nicosia’s old town, will open its doors.

According to sources working at the department store, the final closing day is now April 3. The cafeteria will also remain open until then.

After that, the building will be taken over by Sweden’s fashion clothing retailer H&M, which will reportedly keep the museum and the observatory with its views across a large part of Nicosia, as well as reopen the cafeteria after a renovation.

The food store, which is also slowly emptying, is going to remain closed after the takeover.