M&S sells its ill-fated Lifestore

Ilva has paid £35m for the 70,000ft sq store in Gateshead, and another site in Thurrock that never opened, M&S confirmed last night.

The Lifestore project was overseen by Vittorio Radice, former boss of Habitat and Selfridges. The Gateshead store cost £14m to fit out.

But after fighting off a £9bn offer for the company by entrepreneur Philip Green, chief executive Stuart Rose decided not to expand the concept.

The Gateshead store was closed earlier this year at a loss understood to be £29m, and stores planned for Thurrock and Kingston never opened. In May, the group reported a 21 per cent fall in homeware sales after it abandoned its Lifestores.

Pre-tax profits for the year to April fell by 19 per cent to £618.5m as the group warned tough economic conditions and stronger high street competition meant its outlook remained challenging.