NEWPORT Market will soon be home to 80s-style games arcade and a private dining area.

These latest developments were announced by Simon Baston, of Loft Co, which redeveloped the city's market, when he was a guest at a business breakfast in the city hosted by St David's Hospice Care.

Mr Baston, who was one of five guest speakers from the local business community, told the audience at the Mercure Hotel, that work on the vaults area of the market was due to start imminently and the games arcade and dining area would be housed there along with a mix of workshops and lifestyle units including spin class studios, a children's soft play area, an artificial darts unit and a wine bar.

Mr Baston said Newport needed to 'shout from the rooftops' about what it has to offer.

He said the city had 'it's own swagger' and a lot of creative and talented people, many of whom had based their businesses at the newly-redeveloped market, which was currently about 85 per cent full. He expected that number to be nearer 95 per cent full by Christmas.

He said those who had bases in the market had chosen the venue because of the affordability of the space and because they could collaborate with others who are based there.

"The last six months have seen us change a lot at the market and I think it will change more in the next six months," he said.

He said the city needed to promote itself as a leisure destination rather than a retail desination.

"Newport is not going to be a retail centre but there will still be retail here with many other things around it," he said.

Ceri Trela, general manager at the Mercure Hotel, was another of the guest speakers at the event.

She said she was delighted to be able to fill all the jobs offered at the recently-opened hotel with local people and praised the local media for the support they had given the project to open the hotel in the former Chartist Tower.

Other speakers included Kevin Ward, manager of Newport Now Business Improvement District, Gareth Williams, of Tiny Rebel, and Andrea Ovey, of Newport Live.

The event was compered by Sian Lloyd, a freelance presenter.

The breakfast meeting saw more than 50 local business people attend and they were given a tour of the new hotel and its facilities after the meeting finished.

The event was sponsored by local businesses Kymin and ETLP.