- British Land: Meadowhall received resolution to grant planning consent for £300 million extension
London, 2017-Sep-19 — /EPR Retail News/ — Meadowhall, one of the UK’s most successful regional shopping destinations, has received a resolution to grant planning consent for a £300 million extension that will transform the centre’s leisure offering for its 24 million annual visitors. Councillors unanimously voted in favour of the 330,000 sq ft development.
The extension will integrate with the front of the existing centre featuring dining and entertaining options, a new cinema, café court, gym, open-air terrace and space for leisure, event and community use.
The Leisure Hall will follow a £60 million refurbishment that is transforming the look and feel of the existing centre. This work will be completed during the autumn, ahead of the peak Christmas trading period, and has directly benefited the local economy with 70% of the work commissioned from companies within 25 miles of the centre.
In anticipation of increasing customer interest in Meadowhall as a result of this comprehensive refurbishment, 40 retailers have invested more than £34 million in redesigning and refitting their existing stores to fit the new contemporary feel. These include All Saints, Hollister, House of Fraser and Hugo Boss with a further 30 currently underway. In the 12 months to June 2017, all 61 occupiers with leases due to expire renewed their tenancies and eight of these retailers increased the size of their space within the centre in advance of the refurbishment’s completion.
30 new brands have also signed at Meadowhall over the last 18 months, with Flannels, Tag Heuer, Nespresso, Neal’s Yard and Godiva all adding to the centre’s premium offer.
Charles Maudsley, Head of Retail, Leisure and Residential for British Land, said:
“We are delighted with the Planning Committee’s decision and will now work with our partners and other stakeholders over the coming months on the detail of the Leisure Hall to ensure Meadowhall delivers the maximum benefits for customers, retailers and the wider Sheffield City Region.
“The refurbishment completing later this year, our continued leasing success, significant store investment by retailers and the Leisure Hall proposals are all significant steps in the centre’s continued evolution.”
Notes to Editors
About British Land:
Our portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused on Retail around the UK and London Offices. We own or manage a portfolio valued at £19.1 billion (British Land share: £13.9 billion) as at 31 March 2017 making us one of Europe’s largest listed real estate investment companies.
Our strategy is to provide places which meet the needs of our customers and respond to changing lifestyles – Places People Prefer. We do this by creating great environments both inside and outside our buildings and use our scale and placemaking skills to enhance and enliven them. This expands their appeal to a broader range of occupiers, creating enduring demand and driving sustainable, long term performance.
Our Retail portfolio is focused on Regional and Local multi-let centres, and accounts for 48% of our portfolio. Our Offices portfolio comprises three office-led campuses in central London as well as high quality standalone buildings and accounts for 49% of our portfolio. Increasingly our focus is on providing a mix of uses and this is most evident at Canada Water, our 46 acre redevelopment opportunity where we have plans to create a new neighbourhood for London.
Sustainability is embedded throughout our business. Our places, which are designed to meet high sustainability standards, become part of local communities, provide opportunities for skills development and employment and promote wellbeing. Our industry-leading sustainability performance led to British Land being named a European Sector Leader in the 2016 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark for the third year running.
In April 2016, British Land received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development, the UK’s highest accolade for business success for economic, social and environmental achievements over a period of five years.
Enquiries:
Investor Relations:
Cressida Curtis
British Land
020 7467 2938
Media:
Pip Wood
British Land
020 7467 2838
Jackie Janssen
British Land
020 7467 3449
Nick Thornton
Aver
020 3514 2148
Amanda McNally
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20 3514 2137
Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com
Source: British Land