NEGOTIATIONS are continuing over the future of  Exeter’s former Woolworths store.

Guildhall Shopping Centre bosses are hopeful that  the premises will be relet  soon, but have admitted it is  now too late for any new  occupier to begin trading  there before Christmas.

The unit, one of the  biggest in the centre, has  been vacant since Woolworths closed in January.  The firm had been in administration since last  November and 27,000 staff  were made redundant after  no buyer for the business  could be found.

Hopes had been high that  a new occupier for its Exeter store would have been  confirmed by now, but the  process is taking longer  than expected. This is despite firm interest from a  number of retailers.

The Guildhall Shopping  Centre manager, Andrew  McNeilly,  said: “As with  any one of these units  where there is significant  capital expenditure for the  landlords, there’s an awful  lot of options to weigh up.

“We have about four options we are looking at and  it’s a case of progressing all  those options up to the  point where we can take  that plunge and go for one  or another of them.

“From a retailer’s point  of view it’s a multi-million  pound commitment given  the space, and understandably people are not as fast to  move on such large retail  deals as they were a couple  of years ago.

“Things never move as  quickly as you would like.  But we are confident that  we will eventually get that  resolved and we will deliver  something that will be beneficial for the centre and  also for shoppers in Exeter.”

It has been hinted that  the most likely outcome  would see the unit subdivided into two or three  stores, but Mr McNeilly  said the possibility of one  retailer taking the whole  premises had not been  ruled out.

“The retailer we have  been negotiating with recently said its space requirement had changed, so  we have had to have a bit of  a rethink,” he said.

He added: “Whenever we  bring in someone we want  to get a new retailer to the  city because it’s increasing  choice for the people of Exeter.”

Mr McNeilly said he  hoped a deal could be finalised next month, but  added: “Regardless of what  we do with that unit, we are  never going to make Christmas trading, and unfortunately that removes some of  the urgency from negotiations.”

The recent letting of the  former Choice Gifts premises to the new Extreme  Board Shots gallery means  the former Woolworths  store is the only vacant unit  in the Guildhall.

Mr McNeilly said a new  tenant was lined up to move  into the ground floor of the  former Solo Records  premises when work on  converting the premises into two shops is completed.