PART of a long-forgotten Liverpool hotel will be reclaimed in a multi-million pound facelift of the city’s Marks & Spencer store.

M&S’s current home, Compton House, was built in 1865 as the first UK department store by retailer JR Jeffery.

When his business failed in 1871, the distinctive site, which followed a contemporary design in Paris, was re-opened in 1873 as the Compton Hotel.

But that closed in 1927 and M&S moved in to sections of the building three years later.

But former hotel space in the first- floor facade overlooking Church Street remained separate from the high street giant’s Liverpool site, lying derelict for almost 40 years.

Under the revamp, which is now under way and believed to be costing tens of millions of pounds, M&S will bring the first floor area back into use as a stylish 150-seat cafe with unparalleled views of the city’s premier shopping street.

Store manager Julie Ridley said the revamped store will look “stunning” when the facelift is unveiled in October.

Scaffolding already covers the site’s front which is being sympathetically restored to create an impressive new facade. Mrs Ridley said: “We are restoring the stone on the building to preserve its heritage.

“The front will look stunning. I am really excited about our investment in Liverpool and the store. In this current climate, many businesses would have stopped working on something like this.

“Customers are really excited about it. We have set up comment boxes and people are saying they can’t wait for the new store.”