RETAIL billionaire Sir Phillip Green has ditched plans to move his stores empire permanently into the former Marks & Spencer ladieswear building on Princes Street.
Arcadia Group's brands – which include Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis – made the move into the building, at 91-93 Princes Street, this week. But Arcadia has decided that its long-term future in Edinburgh will be at the refurbished former
RW Forsyth department store that it has owned since 1982. News that it will only lease the former M&S building temporarily will interest discount retailer Primark, which told the Evening News that it was eager for a location in the Capital.
It had been tipped to win the lease for the former M&S store when it came on to the market in late 2006 but lost out to Arcadia.
Arcadia was today not willing to confirm how long the temporary unit would be open, or what its long-term plans for the former Forsyth building were.
But in an application to the city council for permission to put up signs at 91-93 Princes Street, the company said: "The letters and signage are proposed for a temporary period only.
"The store will trade on a temporary basis until such a time as the Forsyth building's proposed refurbishment is completed."
It is not yet known what the company plans to do to its Princes Street store.
No planning application has been lodged to redevelop the building, although it is understood that the firm has obtained a building warrant for work due to take place in the building, which was built in 1906 and bought by the Burton Group in 1982.
The former M&S ladieswear store has around 100,000sq ft of retail space over six floors.
Primark owner Associated British Foods told the Evening News last week it remained "very interested" in a move to Edinburgh but it was still on the hunt for a suitable building.
Ron Hewitt, chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "The interest of retailers looking at Princes Street is going to hot up as the improvement of the street comes closer.
"Primark has four stores in Glasgow and that begs the question why it has none in Edinburgh."
The full article contains 383 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
