FAMOUS London toy store Hamleys is to open a shop in Glasgow.

The Glasgow store, which will employ 20 staff, is part of a £1.5m expansion and it will be the first time Hamleys has opened in Scotland.

It will open around 6000 sqr ft of the top floor of House of Fraser on Buchanan Street from September.

Chief executive Nick Mather said the city was chosen because Glaswegians love to shop.

He said: "We did a lot of research and found Glasgow is within the top five cities in Britain for spending power per head, so it is a great retail destination for us."

The company's top store in Regent Street, London, is over seven floors and is a major tourist attraction. It receives around five million visitors a year.

Mr Mather said he hoped to bring some of that "theatre and entertainment" to Glasgow.

"We will also be fitting out the store with magicians, jugglers and regular toy demonstrations, as well as having appearances by sports stars and celebrities," he said.

Dr Lesley Sawers, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said the arrival of the store would help keep Glasgow's status as one of the best places to shop.

She said: "Glasgow is the UK's top retail centre outside of London and this addition serves to reinforce its excellent retail offering."

The toy shop is the latest in a number of exclusive names to open in Scotland's biggest city.

Last month celebrity handbag shop Mulberry - where handbags sell for up to £4000 - announced it was launching an outlet in the Merchant City in May.

Luxury lingerie company Agent Provocateur is also opening its first Scottish store in the city in May, while computer company Apple is expected to move into the site currently owned by The Pier in Buchanan Street in the summer.

Hamleys' move is part of a UK expansion, with further House of Fraser partnerships being set up in Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and Belfast.