Glasgow is to be home to the fifth Selfridges department store in the UK, the company has announced.

The upmarket store is acquiring a 200,000sq-ft site in the city's fashionable Merchant City area, with 2007 set as its opening date.

It has estimated that the �90m development could create up to 1,000 retail jobs.

The confirmation of the deal comes after a summer of good news for Scots shoppers.

The new store will be in the Merchant City

Harvey Nichols recently opened its first Scottish department store in Edinburgh, while Jenners, synonymous with retail in the Scots capital, opened its first store outside Edinburgh at Loch Lomond.

The Selfridges site was formerly home to the Goldberg store and the Clydesdale Bank.

It fronts onto Trongate and is bordered by Candleriggs, Wilson Street and Hutcheson Street.

The firm is currently developing a plan for a mixed-use development, which will be submitted to Glasgow City Council.

The shop's frontage could potentially be as long 110 metres, which would give Selfridges one of the largest presences in the city.

A derelict site is to be transformed

Vittorio Radice, Selfridges chief executive, said: "We are delighted to have secured this site in Glasgow for our fifth store, and to be playing a major role in the regeneration of Trongate and the Merchant City.

"This site, with a frontage onto Trongate which is almost as long as our Oxford Street store, will enable us to construct a new and exciting landmark building alongside Glasgow's existing architectural heritage."

Baillie Steven Purcell, convener of the city council's development and regeneration committee, welcomed the announcement.

"This is wonderful news for Glasgow and reinforces the city's position as Britain's number two shopping centre," he said.

"This is also great news for the Trongate area.

"The council has led a major regeneration programme for the Trongate and the arrival of Selfridges will be a major step in achieving the aims of that strategy."