Oxford's Marks & Spencer store is receiving a £2m cash injection, creating 50 new jobs, as part of a push to revive the flagging fortunes of the high street chain.

Customers can already enjoy a relaxing break from shopping in the new 80-seater Cafe Revive.

Now work has started on installing a beauty hall, staffed by a team of specially-trained beauty technicians.

A new collection of clothes designed by former Next boss George Davies is being introduced to try to tempt back customers who have deserted Marks & Spencer for other high street chains over the past five years.

There will be more sales assistants, improved services and refurbished fitting rooms with a fresh modern look when work finishes at the store in November.

The company is to spend £500,000 on the new food hall. There are plans for a new bakery and enhanced takeaway.

Store manager Jennie Azizi said: "We are sure our customers will love what we are doing to the store to create an exciting and refreshing shopping experience.

"We have kept disruption to a minimum while the renewal work is taking place and we hope, when customers see the finished results, that the slight inconvenience will have been worth it."

Poor sales at the chain have caused shares to nearly halve in value in the last five years, although they have picked up 20 per cent over the past year alone.

The company is now planning to raise millions of pounds by using its enormous property portfolio as security.

The good news for Oxford's M&S store follows investment by Boots and Debenhams in their stores in Cornmarket Street and Magdalen Street West.

Last October, the Debenhams store reopened following a £35m revamp. Its building was effectively demolished, with only the facade kept.

The new shopping complex created 250 new jobs.

In June last year, Boots store pumped more than £20m into the new-look larger store in Cornmarket Street. The refurbishment led to an increase of about 50 per cent in the sales area of the store, following the expansion into shop space formerly occupied by H Samuel in Cornmarket, and Mothercare and the TSB in Market Street.

Other features of the larger store included a parent and baby room and a one-hour photo processing lab.