STAFF at Marks and Spencer on Deansgate are pulling out all the stops to prepare the store for tomorrow's grand opening.

The completion of the £11 million development marks a major boost for retailing in the town.

M&S is recognised as a flagship in the town centre and the opening of the store will boost trade in the run up to Christmas. The ground floor was completed five weeks ago and it was open as usual today for food sales.

As a result of the development, M&S goods are now all under one roof. The store offers goods on four floors instead of two and is 20,000 square feet larger than before.

Regional Retail Manager Brian Lunn was delighted that the development will be ready in time for the Christmas rush.

He explained that the opening had been delayed while building work was completed and stock arranged on the floors.

Mr Lunn said that a few eager shoppers had 'sneaked' up to the top floors on Saturday to see what was going on!

Former Wanderers star Nat Lofthouse will open the revamped store at 9am tomorrow. Mayor of Bolton Cllr Eric Johnson will also be present.

The store will open for Sunday shopping from next Sunday, November 10.

Cllr Johnson will receive a £500 cheque from the company towards his charities at the opening. M&S have also donated £8,500 to equip an ambulance in the Bolton area and staff are regularly involved in fundraising for Bolton Hospice.

The company also sponsor Bolton Youth Theatre and has donated carpets and other items to Bolton Lads and Girls Club.

Mr Lunn said that involvement in the community was important to the company in addition to trading.

Meanwhile the frantic rush to have the store ready continued over the weekend.

About 20 people were dismantling fittings at the M&S store in the Market Place yesterday after it closed for business on Saturday evening.

And 30 staff were at the Deansgate store late on Saturday and all day yesterday arranging stock on the different floors.

Mr Lunn added: "We have endured 10 months of fairly difficult building work. Our customers have been fantastic. We lost so much space in the main store and it is tremendous the way they stuck with us.

"The new store will look quite spectacular for Christmas. We are also grateful to Bovis who carried out the building work on trading days and produced an excellent quality of finish."

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