Poundland takes over vacant Woolworths store

DISCOUNT chain Poundland has taken over the former Woolworths building in Inverness and is set to open its second city centre store this summer.

The company has signed a lease for the site and will operate on the ground floor only creating up to 45 new jobs, 22 of which will be full time.

Representing an investment of up to 250,000, it will stock a broader range of goods than its current Eastgate store, which will remain open.

"Our existing store is popular and is probably too small for us," said Mark Roberts, Poundland's head of store development.

"We only opened that first store about three years ago, so it's a case of taking a bigger opportunity because we were underrepresented.

"The research we have done suggests there is a huge demand.

"It might have a slight affect on the existing store and we might lose a little bit of business from that but the two combined will be very successful for us we are absolutely convinced about that."

Poundland has already submitted a planning application for new signs at the Woolworths building and said internal work would take around two months to complete before it can open.

The news has been welcomed by the business community, including Inverness Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stewart Nicol, who described it as a significant development.

"It's much more important that we get the shop units open and working and trading than it is to have them lying empty and to let, so it is good news," he said.

Forty people lost their jobs when Woolworths closed in January last year after the company went into administration.

Garek Begg, chairman of the city's Business Improvement District, was pleased to see more jobs being created. "We are delighted that such a prominent site in the city centre is actually reoccupied," he said. "It has been a long time vacant and obviously it was a big loss to lose Woolworths."

He also believed it was unlikely any "higher grade" retailers could have taken over the High Street store due to overheads associated with the large building. "In all honesty the quality retailers are going to struggle to ever get on the High Street because of the costs involved," he commented.