Marks & Spencer expects to acquire an extra 200,000 sq ft of retail space in the Republic over the next three years, it has been announced. A large portion of the space will be taken up by the opening of two new large stores in Galway and Limerick, with the rest accounted for by stores in Dublin.

The announcement was made as part of a £2.1 billion sterling UK and international expansion plan by the retailer, which has been received cautiously in Britain.

The company also released its half-year results to September 27th showing increased overall pre-tax profits of £452 million. The general manager of Marks and Spencer in Ireland, Mr Steve Costello, said Irish business continued to perform well and was a major factor in the overall success of the company's business in Europe.

Mr Costello said the performance of the Grafton Street store had a "significant impact" on the Irish business.

"In its 12 months of trading, over four million people have visited the store," he said.

No operating figures are given by the company for its Irish operations, although a company spokesman said turnover for the first half of this year had increased "substantially" over the same period last year, when it was reported to be £120 million.

Mr Costello said the company was continuing to look for suppliers in the Republic.

The company is looking for greenfield sites in various locations and is also reported to be considering opening a store in the Stillorgan shopping centre in Dublin. A 300,000 sq ft store at Liffey Valley (Quarryvale) is due to open next year and the store in Mary Street, Dublin, is being expanded, and will create 300 new jobs.

The company's business in the Republic is part of its European operations, which showed a increase in turnover of 0.4 per cent for the half year.

However, operating profit was down by 16.8 per cent at £9.4 million. The London stock market took a cautious view of the expansion plans, which will create 5,000 new jobs. Shares slipped amid concerns the £2.1 billion programme could slow the pace of profit growth. There was disappointment at the half-year profit figures. London analysts had been looking for as much as £465 million in pretax profits, while there were concerns about the sheer scale of the UK and international expansion.

The improvement in pre-tax profits was 5.2 per cent, against a 6 per cent rise in turnover, which went from £3.5 billion a year ago to £3.7 billion.