Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) has welcomed a decision by the government to overturn the previous administration’s block on the redevelopment of its flagship Marble Arch store.
Stuart Machin, chief executive, said “I am delighted that, after three unnecessary years of delays, obfuscation and political posturing at its worst, under the previous Government, our plans for Marble Arch – the only retail-led regeneration proposal on Oxford Street – have finally been approved.
“We can now get on with the job of helping to rejuvenate the UK’s premier shopping street through a flagship M&S store and office space, which will support 2,000 jobs and act as a global standard-bearer for sustainability.
"We share the Government’s ambition to breathe life back into our cities and towns and are pleased to see they are serious about getting Britain building and growing. We will now move as fast as we can.”
Machin added that the revamp would help Oxford Street return to its previous position as the centre of shopping in the West End having seen footfall plummet in recent years.
M&S’s plans to demolish the site and replace it with a new shop and office complex were blocked by Michael Gove, the previous government’s Levelling Up secretary, after a campaign by environmentalist and heritage groups to save the iconic building.