The Mayor of Ipswich Roger Fern cut the ribbon to open B&M’s new high street home store in Ipswich today.

East Anglian Daily Times: B & M store opening Ipswich. Left to right, area manager Les Carder and mayor Roger Fern.B & M store opening Ipswich. Left to right, area manager Les Carder and mayor Roger Fern.

The former Poundland, in Carr Street, has undergone an extensive refurbishment including taking 90pc of the warehouse space away to expand the shop floor space to 30,000 sq ft.

The unit, opposite the existing Poundland, was previously home to QD and was then home to the 99p Stores before the chain was taken over by their rivals.The store has created more than 80 new jobs in the town.

Mr Fern was joined by representatives from Suffolk Age UK in the grand opening.

Store manager Pawal Fatz said: “The team at Suffolk Age UK really stood out for us as they go the extra mile for the community, we wanted to give them some VIP treatment as a thank you for all the hard work they do.”

Mr Fern said it was great to see Carr Street full of occupied shops. “What impresses me is the sheer size of it, he said. “Hopefully their success here will encourage a few more businesses to come join this end of town.

“A bit of competition is never a bad thing too.”

Les Carder, area manager for B&M, said: “We have lots of customers going in already so we should have a very good day today.”