HUNDREDS of staff are set to be recruited for Oxford’s new branch of department store chain John Lewis.

More than £18m is being invested in the retailer’s shop at the Westgate Shopping Centre, which is due to reopen in October after a £440m revamp.

And the company has announced it will hire about 300 'partners' - its term for staff, who are given a share of the group’s annual bonus – next month.

It also confirmed Julie Blake as branch manager, who will oversee the 120,000sq ft department store.

Ms Blake, who has been with John Lewis for more than 30 years, previously managed John Lewis branches in Watford, Solihull and Newbury.

She said: "As someone who works in the surrounding area, I’ve been following the plans for John Lewis Oxford very closely.

"I am excited to be appointed branch manager for our first Oxford shop and to play a role at the Westgate Centre, which is set to become a spectacular retail and leisure landmark in this iconic city."

John Lewis is set to be the anchor store at the redeveloped shopping centre, which will boast top fashion brands such as Michael Kors, Hugo Boss, Ted Baker, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein alongside high street favourites H&M, Russell & Bromley and Victoria’s Secret Pink.

Retailers will also include women’s clothing brand Mint Velvet, make-up experts Smashbox, Gant, Body Shop, T2, Hotel Chocolat, Guess, JD Sports, Oxford menswear and grooming specialists Burrows & Hare, Trotters, Accessorize, Lush and Aveda and there will be also be a Curzon cinema.

John Lewis will start accepting job applications for roles at the store in April.

Last month Andy Street, the former managing director of John Lewis, revealed the department store wanted to come to Oxford for many years before the Westgate Centre redevelopment got under way.

Speaking after a talk at the Said Business School Mr Street, who left the company last year, said: "We decided to come to Oxford because it is a locality we have always wanted.

"We needed the right retail location in the city and Land Securities (a partner in the Westgate Oxford Alliance with The Crown Estate) has given us the location we wanted."

In January staff at grooming specialists Burrows & Hare told how they were thrilled be 'headhunted' to open a new store at the Westgate Centre.

Junaid Ansari, 28, who runs the store in the Covered Market, said staff from the centre came into the shop and asked them if they wanted to set up a new outlet in the Westgate Centre.

They are now looking forward to setting up their second shop alongside designer brands.

The family-run business opened in the Covered Market in August 2015 and its menswear and grooming products have won a loyal following.

The refurbished Westgate Centre is scheduled to open on Tuesday, October 24.