The 17,000sq ft store, will highlight M&S's new signature style, with contemporary interior design, brighter lighting, easy to navigate walkways and spacious fitting rooms. It will be the company's sixteenth store in the Republic and will create one hundred new jobs in the area. The new store will include a fashion outlet, food hall and bakery.

"We've been looking to open a store in the midlands for a while and are very pleased to have secured such a great location, " says Jim McNicholas, the company's regional manager in Ireland.

Athlone Towncentre will comprise over 300,000sq ft of retail space on two levels along with a four star, 160-bed hotel with spa and leisure centre and a 1,300-space car park. The scheme has been developed by hotel and commercial property company Gallico, headed by hotelier John O'Sullivan.

Agents for the scheme are Bannon Commercial who say that demand for space in the centre has considerably exceeded supply.