Discount retailer B&M will open a store in Plymouth city centre this spring creating jobs and giving the troubled shopping area a welcome boost.
The Liverpool-headquartered company in the former BHS store in Cornwall Street. The firm has been mulling a move into the building since 2019 when plans were announced to break it up into three units.
But now it has confirmed it will be opening on April 14, creating the retailer’s third outlet in Plymouth. It will be a neighbour of international food chain German Doner Kebab, which prides itself on using premium lean meat imported from Germany, after it opened in a 216sq m unit in the former BHS block, with an entrance on Armada Way, in 2020.
Kaspa’s Desserts, which styles itself “the king of desserts” and has more than 80 restaurants in Britain, has been linked with the third ground floor space.
But although , it has yet to confirm a date for moving into the 300sq m space.
A B&M spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we will be opening a store at the former BHS site on Cornwall Street, it’s set to open on Wednesday, April 14.”
The company said it would be creating jobs and would reveal details later. B&M opened stores at Coypool and Transit Way in 2017, not long before the city centre lost competitor Poundworld in 2018.
B&M’s arrival will mean a welcome fillip for the city centre, which has been hit by a string of shop closures during the past year, headed by the loss of the enormous Debenhams department store.
Most Read
Other city stores that have closed include Laura Ashley, Clintons, Cafe Thorntons, Skinnydip, Brighthouse, Peacocks and Edinburgh Woollen Mill, with the Burton/Dorothy Perkins store expected not to reopen after the third national lockdown. In Drake Circus Shopping Centre Carphone Warehouse, Cath Kidston, Paperchase and Top Shop have all closed.
And upper Cornwall Street, where B&M will open, has not been immune with long-standing family firm Lawsons closing its hardware store in 2020.
And the area could suffer further casualties with the unit currently occupied by Caffe Nero being advertised as available to let, and the building currently let to Halfords also being advertised with its present lease expiring in 2022, raising questions about both chains future in the city centre.
In January 2021, Steve Hughes, chief executive of Plymouth City Centre Company, predicted some chains would not survive the third lockdown.
He said: “It’s too early to say how the latest lockdown will impact on businesses exactly, but undoubtedly some will not make it.
“Without further help, big chains and independents are at threat, and particularly the hospitality sector, because Covid restrictions mean they can’t trade successfully.
“So from the point of view of Plymouth city centre, then undoubtedly there will be more casualties. Some will be among the big chains which can no longer afford to have the overheads of bricks and mortar premises.”
Don’t miss
Get your BusinessLive news direct and all in one place
Stay in touch: BusinessLive newsletters have been re-designed to make them even better. We send morning bulletins straight to your inbox on the latest news, views and opinion. Get our breaking news alerts and weekly sector reviews too. Sign up now - it's free and it only takes a minute.
B&M, however, is not at risk and has been hugely successful during the coronavirus pandemic, while it has been allowed to stay open as an essential trader.
In January 2021 B&M bosses said they would reward its 30,000 staff with an extra week's wages, with shareholders to receive a special dividend of £200million after revenues at its 海角视频 stores soared over Christmas.
The discount retail giant said 海角视频 stores' revenue growth for Q3 - the festive "golden quarter" - was 26.6%, while group revenue growth stood at 22.5%. That's compared with a 9.9% rise for the same period last year. The group opened 18 stores during the quarter, helping to create 500 jobs.
How to contact William Telford and Business Live
Business Live's South West Business Reporter is William Telford. William has more than a decade's experience reporting on the business scene in Plymouth and the South West. He is based in Plymouth but covers the entire region.
To contact William: Email: william.telford@reachplc.com - Phone: 01752 293116 - Mob: 07584 594052 - Twitter: - LinkedIn: - Facebook:
Stay in touch: BusinessLive newsletters have been re-designed to make them even better. We send morning bulletins straight to your inbox on the latest news, views and opinion in the South West. Get our breaking news alerts and weekly sector reviews too. Sign up now - it's free and it only takes a minute. To sign up for Business Live's daily newsletters click .
And visit the Business Live South West LinkedIn page
In a trading update detailing a "strong golden quarter", the firm also said a further special dividend of 20p per share - equating to around £200million in total - will be paid to shareholders at the end of January.
Chief executive Simon Arora and his family are the biggest shareholders in the business, meaning he will pay himself £30million, in addition to a £44million dividend payout revealed two months ago.
The payouts come as the retailer saw a surge in sales during lockdowns with more than 670 branches operating nationwide. In November 2021 the company paid back £3.7million in furlough cash, and a month later said it would pay the Treasury £80million from savings from business rates relief.
Construction teams moved into Plymouth’s vast former BHS store in 2019. The first floor is also planned for redevelopment, possibly for non-retail use such as homes, offices or a hotel.
The two-floor building, which wraps around a corner taken by Barclays bank, has been empty for four years after BHS went into liquidation, closing all 163 branches nationally, including Plymouth’s, with the loss of 11,000 jobs.
St James’ Place Property Unit Trust, which represents the building’s leaseholder, gained permission to transform the 6,230sq m pile by subdividing it and changing use so restaurants can move in. Plymouth city council still retains the freehold.