Marks & Spencer shelves plans for new store at Leamington Shopping Park

On Tuesday The Gibraltar Limited Partnership, which owns the shopping park, announced the retail company’s plan to open a 35,000sq ft store which could have created about 100 new jobs.

But yesterday afternoon Simon Hoare, a spokesman for the partnership, said: “The Gibraltar Limited Partnership have been advised today that Marks & Spencer no longer has an interest in occupying the former Focus unit at Leamington Shopping Park.

“This Partnership is obviously disappointed by this decision.

“As a result, the planned public consultation that was due to take place on Friday and Saturday is cancelled.”

Marks & Spencer spokesman Christopher Kang later said: “We are always looking for new sites and have been in discussions about the former Focus store at Leamington Shopping Park.

“We have nothing to confirm at the moment and unfortunately the public exhibitions are now not taking place.”

For more on this story see tomorrow’s Courier.