Luxury-goods shoppers will soon have a wider choice in Dublin with the announcement, expected today, that London department store Harvey Nichols is to be one of the anchor tenants in Dundrum Town Centre due to open next March.

Harvey Nichols specialises in high-fashion franchises and will be in direct competition with Brown Thomas, which handles many of the same designer labels and is already facing intense competition since the upgrading of rival stores in the city centre.

Harvey Nichols will occupy a store of 3,716 sq m in a key position fronting on to the new civic square in Dundrum. The multiple is likely to be paying a rent of €1.5 million in the €250 million centre, which has already attracted the most interesting line-up of tenants of any of Dublin's shopping centres. Other traders will include the House of Fraser, Zara, Hugo Boss, Furla, Tommy Hilfiger, H&M and Marks and Spencer.

Mr Neil Bannon, of letting agents Harrington Bannon, said last night that the completion of the letting agreement with Harvey Nichols was "a major coup" for the centre, where more than 90 per cent of the retail space had already been booked.

In addition to Dundrum, Harvey Nichols is also opening new stores in Hong Kong and Dubai.

The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 2002 when it was privatised by the flamboyant businessman Mr Dickson Poon.

Because of the runaway success of the letting campaign for Dundrum, Castlethorn Developments is also planning to demolish and replace the present shopping centre on the opposite side of Dundrum village. When both centres open for business, Dundrum is expected to emerge as the key suburban shopping area in Dublin.