THE developers of the Friars Walk complex said they are the right people for the job with projects in Belfast and Bath providing proof.

Paul Sargent, partner of Queensberry Real Estates, which has won the contract to develop the new 39,000 sq ft retail/leisure quarter in Newport city centre, said it was hoped it would be open in October 2015 following news that Newport councillors had backed a plan for a £90million loan.

He said contractors are likely to be named in the next three weeks and that they are in advanced negotiation with at least three high street chains.

“Anyone who is worried about whether we are the right people for the job should just look at the success of our two previous projects in Bath and Belfast.”

He added: “We expect to be on site in February/March and that is when we will make some more announcements of signings. We also hope to be open in October 2015.”

Mr Sargent said his firm has been to the council with a number of ideas for funding solutions for the development but those were likely to have turned out to be very costly and with the council and the company getting very little benefit from them.

He said that before the recession these sorts of funding deals involving local authorities were not at all usual but now lots of councils were either providing loans or looking at other financial packages to help kick start struggling development schemes.

These include projects in Hinkley, Sheffield and Chester, which has been financing its own development costs while waiting for the market to recover.

He said: “The council has made a big decision and the right one. Market conditions have been extremely difficult and the council has responded very well.

“We did present other funding solutions to them but they were very expensive and would have meant the council wouldn’t have been benefiting fully from the project itself.

“This has been the best solution in terms of timing. We still have a lot of work to do to get to the place where we can get on site.”

Mr Sargent has praised Newport council for the way they have been leading the way on the development which is expected to create 1,100 jobs.

Signings already announced include Debenhams, Next, Topshop, Nandos, Cineworld and Frankie and Benny’s.

Queensberry has recently been selected as the development partner for a £150m scheme in Coventry.