TWO existing retailers have moved into refurbished units as work to transform a key city centre retail and office block gathers pace.

Contractors have been on site at the former Arndale House since October as part of its conversion into The Xchange building.

The project involves the ground floor being refurbished to create new units and the first floor of the building being turned into an Easy Gym in a £2.2 million redevelopment.

In addition, the former office block above is currently being turned into more than 100 flats. Work started in December on this £4.3m scheme to transform the upper seven floors of the high-rise building into 126 one and two-bedroom apartments with a roof garden.

Existing businesses fashion store Bon Marche and weekly payment store Bright House have now moved into their new units both on the Market Street side of the building. Bakery Greggs is also due to be relocated next to Yorkshire Building Society on the Broadway side of the redevelopment, and work has begun to transform their new larger unit.

National café chain Esquires Coffee was the first of the new businesses announced for The Xchange, which is to take up the corner unit where Charles Street meets Broadway, near the entrance of the Broadway shopping centre.

The unit just vacated by Bright House on the corner of Market Street and Charles Street is also under offer and an announcement is expected shortly.

In addition, there has been interest in the two remaining units to fill on Broadway, with negotiations continuing with a national retailer for the larger of the two.

The outside of the building is being given a brand new look with a striking glass frontage.

Mark Brearley, letting agent for the development, said: "We are delighted about the interest in these units, helping to transform Broadway and the lower end of the city centre.

"We are also very happy with the strong interest in the development from national retailers and restaurants."

He added that with the opening of the neighbouring Broadway shopping centre and with final plans in place to create a cinema and more restaurants by redeveloping another building on Broadway, the area was being transformed.

The 1960s-built building is owned by a company called Auger Investments which bought it back in 2011, and the firm's development arm Rawson Quarter LLP is refurbishing the lower floors, with Manchester-based property firm Pinnacle Alliance developing the flats above.