“ALL options will be on the table” when the council meets with bosses from Marks & Spencer.

Council chiefs are set to sit down with the retail giant on Friday, January 23, after meeting with bosses at the Arndale Centre.

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Leader, Councillor Miles Parkinson, said he planned to try and resolve any issues M&S may have in a bid to keep it from quitting Accrington’s high street after more than 50 years this spring.

Options include refurbishing its current Broadway store, downsizing it, or moving to a different unit, he said.

“We have had a meeting with the owners of the Arndale Centre and we will relay our discussions with M&S when we meet,” he said.

“We got commercially sensitive information and what the other obligations were between the Arndale Centre and M&S, and we will ask their views and discuss, commercially, why they thought it would be good to leave Accrington.

“We will put forward our views and see if there can be any positive outcome.”

He said: “All options will be on the table. M&S has a large customer base which has been loyal for many years. It could be the shop needs to be updated and M&S might be looking at the cost of that.

“The council, the Arndale Centre, and the general public hope that M&S look at their figures and the costs and see what can be done.“Becoming a smaller site, relocating, or refurbishment: all options are on the table.”

A staff member at Marks and Spencer told the Lancashire Telegraph he had yet to be informed about an interview for the chain’s new Rawtenstall store, set to open in the spring.

Last week, M&S’ general merchandise arm, including homewares and fashion, saw a bigger-than-expected decline in like-for-like sales of 5.8 per cent in the 13 weeks to December 27 – the 14th consecutive quarter the figure has fallen.

Shares slumped by more than four per cent as the update added to signs that investor patience is being tested by the pace of the company’s turnaround.

Boss Marc Bolland admitted the quarter had been a difficult one in general merchandise due to an “unsatisfactory” performance in M&S’ e-commerce distribution centre and unseasonal weather conditions.

M&S said its website performed well operationally but this was offset by disruption at its new distribution centre in Castle Donington, Leicestershire.