Danish jewellery retailer Pandora, one of the fastest growing jewellery brands in the world, has opened a new store in Commercial Street, Newport.

The move has been seen as a vote of confidence in the city’s future by South Wales retailer and franchisee, Stephen Hughes.

Eight new members of staff have been recruited from Newport, including a new manager and assistant manager, and more than £350,000 has been invested in the store.

It is Stephen Hughes’ third Pandora venture in South Wales, following the success of his outlets in Swansea and Carmarthen.

Huw Thomas, of Cooke & Arkwright, acted for the private landlord in the deal and Stephen Kane & Co acted for Pandora.

Mr Thomas said: “This is a real boost for the city centre retail offering and comes at a time when a number of positive transformations are under way in Newport.

“The property is well-located on the pedestrianised Commercial Street and near to Llanarth Street, which will be one of the major thoroughfares into the new Friars Walk retail-led development, scheduled to open in Autumn 2015.”

Mr Hughes, who founded his first store, Stephen Hughes Fine Diamonds in Swansea in 1996, said it made perfect sense to select Newport for his third Pandora franchise, although he doesn’t deny that Newport faces challenging conditions.

“Newport has a large population, it’s the third largest city in Wales and we believe it is one of the up and coming regions,” he said.

“There are Pandora brands in locations across the UK which are experiencing similar challenges, and which are doing very well. We have great confidence in the brand and we are getting into Newport at this time because we think the future of the city will be prosperous and we see great potential for growth. We have also been delighted with the quality of the staff we have been able to recruit locally, and the team was trained in our other stores and in the Pandora headquarters in London.”

The Regeneration of Newport is gaining momentum. When completed, Friars Walk will bring leading brands to the city including Debenhams, Next, Top Shop, Nandos, Cosmo, Frankie & Bennys’, Chiquito, Prezzo and Cineworld.

Key city centre properties are being converted into new homes and space for business start-ups, and Admiral Insurance has relocated from Langstone into a purpose-built office block in the heart of the city centre.

A 3,000-delegate convention centre is being planned at The Celtic Manor Resort on the outskirts of the city and in September, the resort will play host to the 2014 NATO summit, which will be visited by 60 world leaders, 7,500 delegates and 5,000 journalists.

Mr Hughes said: “If we can play our part in revitalising the city centre then we are very glad to do that."