A NEW York-style delicatessen, a coffee shop and a chocolatier are to open in Fountainbridge as the expansion of the city's financial district continues.

Scottish deli firm McLeish Brothers and coffee chain Coffee Republic have secured the ground floor space at the £50 million Lochrin Square development. Chocolate retailer Thorntons will also set up a franchised shop.

The new retailers are expected to open at the former Scotmid headquarters in April, around the same time as Bank of Scotland Corporate moves into its new base on the site.

Business leaders today claimed the move would bring more of a "Venice lifestyle" to the canalside area around the former Fountain Brewery.

The Lochrin Square office development is now on the verge of full capacity, only four months after it was completed. David Robinson, development director at Gladedale Capital, which worked on the project as a joint venture with Scotmid, said: "McLeish Brothers will provide the perfect retail complement to the corporate tenants already at Lochrin Square.

"It's a fantastic result to have the final space in No.1 Lochrin Square snapped up less than four months after practical completion."

Dundee-based McLeish Brothers is to take a 15-year lease, worth £90,000 a year, as it continues its Scottish expansion.

Coffee Republic announced its return to Scotland last year. It has an espresso bar at Fountain Park and is planning a unit in St Andrew Square Gardens.

As well as HBoS, which recently leased 62,000 sq ft of space at No.1 Lochrin Square, legal firm Biggart Baillie LLP and financial services support company Watson Wyatt have also moved to the block.

Stanley Morrice, managing director of McLeish Brothers, said: "Lochrin Square is a marvellous development and its location as well as its quality, infrastructure and general spec, made it the ideal choice for us."

The new deals were also welcomed by business leaders. Ron Hewitt, chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said:

"There is no doubt the rejuvenation of the Lochrin Basin is one of the most welcome developments in Edinburgh. It brings that Venice lifestyle that changes it from an undesirable nightspot to a place people want to be."

www.lochrinsquare.com
www.gladedalecapital.com
www.coffeerepublic.co.uk

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