M&Co will officially open at Hempstead Valley on Saturday.

The fashion retailer will move into the former BHS store , which closed in August last year after the it was placed into administration in March 2016.

It is the largest M&Co store to date at 12,600sqft and will employ 30 people.

The Mayor and Mayoress of Medway will officially open the shop at 9am on Saturday. A two minutes silence will be observed at 11am for Armistice Day.

M&Co’s Chief Executive Officer, Andy McGeoch said, “Everyone at M&Co is thrilled to be opening our exciting new store in the Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre.

“It's brilliant to be welcoming customers back into the ex-BHS unit, which has sat empty for more than a year.

“Our Hempstead store will be one of the biggest in our estate, offering amazing fashion and top class service with a smile.”

The unit stood empty for many months but was recently occupied by pop-up furniture store Lilac Cherry Homestores for seven weeks.

The new occupants sell a variety of products including clothes for all the family, homeware and accessories.

Last month, plans were revealed to build a new unit in the car park for five retailers to move in as part of the ongoing refurbishment at the site.

Development manager Eric Hall, said: “With an ageing building once you finish one part there is always something else that needs to be looked at.

"These are larger units than we can accommodate now and we’re looking to let them to tenants to extend the range of shops we have to offer.

“We want to get people to keep coming back by offering them excellent facilities.”