Marks & Spencer Group, the large British retailer, will officially open a store in London's The Shard, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Skeptics have questioned the short list of commercial tenants for the skyscraper, which celebrated its inauguration last week.
The Shard has 5,000-square-feet (465 square meters) of retail space, according to Businessweek. But retail is only part of the mix. Floors 34 to 52 of The Shard have already been pre-let to the Shangri-La Hotel, while announcements on the building's restaurants are imminent, developer Irvine Sellar told The Telegraph. Three,unnamed, potential office tenants have reportedly entered into talks with Sellar Property Group as well.
While some critics cite the lack of retail tenants as a major problem for the building, The National points out that "an unusually large number of blue-chip tenants will see their London office leases expire in the next 12 months, at a time when there is little new space being constructed."