John Lewis unveils details of £24m Edinburgh store revamp

John Lewis has unveiled details of the £24m revamp of its anchor store at the St James Centre in Edinburgh.

The retailer has been refurbishing the 160,000 sq ft store since last year, as work continues on a £1bn redevelopment of the shopping centre.

It is creating an additional shopping floor, a new cafe and a tech product area as part of the revamp.

The redevelopment includes a new entrance on Leith Street and parking spaces outside the shop.

The layout of the premises is also being reconfigured, as the store prepares to be reconnected to the redeveloped St James Centre ahead of its scheduled opening in 2020.

John Lewis said it expected most of the changes to be completed by the end of this month, with the final touches due to be completed by August.

Barry Blamire, head of branch at John Lewis Edinburgh, said: "This is one of the biggest refurbishments the shop has seen in its 43 years and an incredibly exciting moment in our history."