Jewellery giant Pandora is to open its first Ipswich store in the town’s Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre.

Work is to start soon on the 2,380 square foot unit on the ground floor of the centre. It could bring with it up to 20 new jobs.

Pandora is the fourth major new arrival at the Centre in the last eight months following on from River Island, Poundland and Iceland.

It also comes in the wake of the re-news that Topshop, which recently carried out a major refit of its Tower Ramparts store, has signed a new ten-year lease at the centre which is due to begin a £4 million refurbishment soon.

The news of the arrival of Pandora, the world’s third-largest jewellery retailer, to Ipswich has been welcomed by Tower Ramparts manager Mike Sorhaindo.

He said: “This is a real boost for the centre and for the local economy in Ipswich with more new jobs created here at Tower Ramparts.

“Pandora is a hugely successful brand and they will bring a new dynamic to the Centre and to our retail offer.”

Pandora, which is based in Denmark where it was founded in 1982, has more than 10,000 outlets in 80 countries. In the UK it is growing rapidly with profits up 20% last year.

The company now has 150 stores in the UK and opened almost 40 of them last year.

Gavin Ingram, Associate Director of LaSalle Investment Management who market the centre, said: “The opening of Pandora’s new store underscores our plan to extensively refurbish Tower Ramparts in order to attract the very best global retailers.

“It is an excellent addition to the centre and will prove popular with our shoppers.”