GOLDEN Square bosses expect thousands of bargain hunters to descend on Golden Square this Friday.

The discount day, known as Black Friday, sees massive markdowns and offers provide a huge pre-Christmas boost for the centre’s 140 retailers.

Last year’s event lead to a 14 per cent increase in footfall on Black Friday alone with the centre opening from 8am to 8pm this year with free parking for shoppers.

Ian Cox, Golden Square director, said: “Last year Black Friday had a huge impact on our visitor numbers and as a retail phenomenon the event is growing in popularity with more and more brands taking part.

“Over the course of 2014 we welcomed over 12.7 million customers – half a million more than the year before – which was partially down to the boost Black Friday gave to our stores, combined with the great line up of festive events in the run up to Christmas.

“We expect it to be even more attractive to shoppers this year as we have several new additions."