The team behind Croydon's new £500million shopping centre is targeting big spenders who like buying "aspirational brands".

Minerva Plc revealed it is hoping to attract upmarket fashion retailers like Whistles and Reiss to the new Park Place shopping centre which will replace the Allders building and St George's Walk.

And the developer said it would not simply be a duplicate of the town's existing shopping centres, Centrale and Whitgift.

Lend Lease, who are developing Park Place alongside Minerva, told the Croydon Guardian the centre would be "packed full of top endbrands" aimed at "a different market".

Mark Boyes, senior development manager with the firm, said: "It will be more of a bespoke type of shopping centre. We cannot have three identical shopping centres, it wouldn't work and just is not viable so this one has to be unique."

Other possible stores include Abercrombie and Fitch and All Saints.

But neither company was able to shed any light on the issue that has dogged the Park Place project in recent months - whether John Lewis will be the centre's main store or not. They did, however, say an announcement was due to be made in the early summer.

Each floor in Park Place is likely to be themed, with the basement focusing on homewares with stores such as Zara Home and Habitat.

Mr Boyes added: "I think Park Place will be within the top 10 shopping centres in the UK. Residents will be getting a ground-breaking, sustainable, ethical shopping centre on their doorsteps. There will be no need to travel out of Croydon for shopping and I hope it will be on a par with Lakeside and Bluewater."

A compulsory purchase order was approved by the Government last month after a public inquiry. Properties in Park Street, St George's Walk and High Street will be demolished.

The scheme will feature an anchor department store and another 133 shops as well as cafes and restaurants.

Allders could be reduced to a third of its size and spread across several sites, the developers said.

Mr Boyes added: "Croydon deserves this investment, the town has stood still for 15 years and I would like to see a return to the Halcyon days of Croydon because residents deserve it."