Hotel Chocolat is sweet on Sheffield

The company has taken a lease on number 8 Fargate as part of its rapid UK expansion.

Letting firm Fawcett Mead said it had completed a 10-year lease to the firm, based in Hertfordshire.

Stuart Kearney of Fawcett Mead said it showed the quality of retailer the city was attracting.

He added: “We are very pleased to have completed this letting in a quick timescale to provide a fully-let retail parade in prime Sheffield. Achieving such a reputable and credible retailer displays the quality Sheffield is currently attracting.”

A tradesman inside the store said it would open on May 10.

Hotel Chocolat sells its products online and through 84 stores in the UK - including one in Meadowhall - and abroad.

The company was founded in 1993 by Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris and has traded under the Hotel Chocolat brand since 2003.

In March it revealed plans for an initial public offering of shares with a launch on the Alternative Investment Market, expected next month.

Speaking in March, Mr Thirlwell said: “We are very excited at the prospect of listing as it is the next logical step in our growth plans and will enable us to accelerate the many initiatives that we have in place, in particular additional investment in our British chocolate manufacturing, in new stores and in our digital offering.”

In 2006, the company officially acquired a cocoa plantation in Saint Lucia, West Indies.