THE music and video chain Virgin Megastore is set to move into Bolton.

The expanding company is looking at a prime site in the Market Place, due to be vacated by Marks and Spencer when it moves into its four storey Deansgate store next month.

A spokesman for Virgin Megastore said Bolton was on the list of places where the firm wants to open in 1997: "We are opening 20 new stores between now and Christmas and we are looking to supplement our city stores with outlets in larger towns.

"I can confirm that Bolton is being considered."

And Virgin Megastore is not the only firm looking at a move into the town centre.

Frozen food giant Iceland is considering a move to new premises currently under construction at the old Co-op site on Bridge Street.

Four units will be created in the new development which is expected to open in the New Year. It is not known which other companies are interested in the site.

A spokeman for Iceland said: "We are aware of the development on Bridge Street and we are considering a move." These developments and the imminent opening of the new Gates Centre for Boots, formerly the Shipgates Centre in Mealhouse Lane, have been welcomed by the Bolton traders' committee.

Arnold Wilcox-Wood, chairman of Bolton Town Centre Partnership, said: "There is a lot going on in Bolton at the moment and we should use it to our advantage.

"Hopefully it will put us in a stronger position when it comes to attracting more shoppers."

The Virgin Megastore chain is not part of the empire of millionaire businessman Richard Branson, who is poised to build a cinema super-complex in the Tonge Valley area of Bolton.

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