The firm replaces contractor Merepark Construction, which went into voluntary liquidation in June leaving several subcontractors out of pocket.

Merepark Construction secured an initial £26m contract to refurbish the interior and exterior of the iconic Grade II listed building having successfully completed the interior strip out of the nine-storey building.

Due to the increasing scope of works the scheme was running 15% over-budget when the project funder decided to cease payments to Merepark Construction’s subcontractors and suppliers, despite the project being 85% complete.

When finished the central village scheme will comprise 300,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, 75,000 sq ft of office space and a six-screen Odeon cinema.

A spokesperson from Merepark said: “A replacement building contractor for the Lewis’s building has been sourced by the Long leaseholder, Regent Capital, and construction on the building is expected to resume in the next few weeks.

“The Lewis’s building is a fantastic offering and despite the delays to construction which have unfortunately been experienced, Lewis’s is however still witnessing a strong pipeline of interest from businesses keen to take up units in the building.

“Businesses which signed up to take on units within the Lewis’s building are still going through the legal processes, the outlook is positive and the companies which originally signed up to take on space in the building are still on track to do so.”