A POPULAR high street clothing company has announced it will be reopening its Basingstoke store - with a brand new look - later this year.

H&M in Festival Place has been closed as part of the national lockdown - but promises to offer customers an even better experience when it reopens its doors in summer 2021.

Toni Galli, country manager for H&M UK and IE, said: "We are extremely excited to be reopening our H&M Basingstoke store in Festival Place with a first of its kind new look and feel this summer.

"Our aim is always to provide our customers with the best shopping experience possible and we are confident that our Basingstoke store will offer exactly this. We cannot wait to share more details with our customers in the near future!"

Russell Jewell, head of private equity funds at AEW - which acquired Festival Place in 2015 - added: "The lease renewal by H&M - the second largest clothing retailer in the world - is a great endorsement for the transformation that has taken place at Festival Place under AEW's asset management.

"The strong trading in the years since it opened has resulted in a UK first, with Festival Place selected for the new H&M design.

"The newly fitted-out store is due to reopen in summer this year, by which time we hope that the Covid lockdowns will be behind us, meaning customers can return to a safe and appealing shopping experience."

Founded in Sweden in 1947, H&M opened its first UK store in 1976 and now has more than 240 stores across the UK and Ireland.

The retailer's new look in Basingstoke will be the first of its kind in the UK, and the company says it will be releasing further details in due course.