FASHION retailer New Look has chosen Glasgow for its first standalone menswear store as part of a £38million deal.

The firm, which has two city centre stores selling female clothing, is to take over the former HMV store at the corner of Buchanan Street.

The building, once the music chain’s flagship store in Scotland, has been standing empty since it closed in May 2014.

German restaurant operator Vapiano is also to open on the first floor of the city centre location, which once housed the George Hotel.

It will come as a welcome boost to the area, which has experienced a raft of store closures along Sauchiehall Street including major department store BHS and show retailer Clarks.

A further blow was dealt with the recent announcement that family-run firm Greaves is to shut its doors, leaving only the Gordon Street store.

Property consultancy CBRE secured the tenants for the building on behalf of Hines UK, which acquired the property along with German investment company Universal-Investment last year in a reported £38m deal.

Euan McGonigle, associate director in CBRE’s Retail team, who acted for Hines UK on the lets, said: “Units of this nature are rarely available in the heart of Glasgow’s shopping district and it’s fantastic to have secured two new tenants for this unique opportunity.

“New Look Menswear will be a welcome addition to Glasgow’s premier shopping destination and we are thrilled it has chosen this location for its first Scottish store.

“Vapiano will bring something different to the city with its new fast casual high quality dining concept.”

Business leaders have suggested that “radical” change is needed to secure a more promising future for Sauchiehall Street.

Brian Fulton, the chairman of the Sauchiehall BID, a group which aims to improve the street’s business prospects, said the street needs to build on attracting people through the amount of entertainment on offer on the street.

The owners of Scotland’s oldest department stores have also suggested that retail could be helped by lowering business rates and parking costs.

The Watt Brothers store which has kept business going in its Sauchiehall Street store for 102 years also said the street needs care and attention in order to revitalise.

Work is to get under way this summer on a major transformation of Sauchiehall Street creating a tree-lined avenue.

The scheme is the start of a £115m investment by the city council to create a network of continuous pedestrian and cycle priority routes in the city centre.