- British Land celebrates the completion of the £60 million refurbishment of Meadowhall
London, 2017-Dec-07 — /EPR Retail News/ — British Land, joint owner of Meadowhall, one of the UK’s premier shopping destinations, is today (06 DEC 2017) celebrating the completion of the £60 million refurbishment of the centre. This marks the end of a two-year programme, during which £40 million was invested in store upgrades by more than 70 brands including existing and new additions to Meadowhall’s line-up.
This combined investment of £100 million has already made a positive impact on performance, with footfall on Black Friday up 8%, making it the busiest on record. The prime Zone A rental tone has risen to over £400, reflecting very strong demand for space with 30 new retailers signing in the last 18 months.
Charles Maudsley, Head of Retail, Leisure and Residential for British Land, said: “The transformation we have achieved at Meadowhall is a great example of how we have listened to our customers and responded to their needs to create space that works for shoppers and enables retailers to thrive in an omni-channel world. It also demonstrates the value we place in working in partnership with the community to deliver significant, long-lasting benefits to the Sheffield City Region.”
Claire Barber, Head of Meadowhall for British Land, added: “Meadowhall is a very different place as a result of our investment. It is lighter and brighter; the space is more modern and the offer is significantly enhanced so it is the first choice for shoppers across the region. Together with our longer term plans for the centre, Meadowhall has a great future as one of the leading retail and leisure destinations in the UK.”
Highlights of the refurbishment include:
- The creation of four districts each with a distinctive character and offer
- Columns and bulkheads have been reduced or removed creating lighter, brighter malls, with new glazing, improved lighting and new customer seating added
- Double height flagship formats introduced by brands, including All Saints and Hollister
- New brands added including the first-ever physical store for online retailer Joe Browns, as well as Michael Kors, Flannels, Urban Decay, Skinny Dip, Tag Heuer, iSmash, Diesel, Joules, Jack Wills, Neal’s Yard, Nespresso, T2, schuh Kids, Pret a Manger, GBK, Barburrito, and Tapas Revolution
- Upsizings or increased brand presence by Primark, River Island, Sports Direct, Build-A-Bear, JD Sports, Virgin Holidays and The Entertainer
- Redesigns by existing occupiers including House of Fraser, M&S, Yo! Sushi, Timberland, Ted Baker, and Molton Brown.
Through the transformation, British Land has delivered a range of benefits for the Sheffield City Region:
- Over 1,200 jobs were created to deliver the refurbishment, with 35% of the workforce living in Sheffield and 41% overall from the Sheffield City Region
- Almost 50% of the £60 million spend has been awarded to SMEs
- 70% of the project spend was made within 25 miles of Meadowhall, with 55% being spent in the Sheffield City Region
- Local companies employed on the transformation include Dearneside, SCS Group, EE Ingleton Engineering, Clearline, EMR and the Ron Hull Group.
The refurbishment of Meadowhall will be followed by the development of a Leisure Hall, which was granted planning consent in a unanimous vote by Sheffield City Council’s planning committee in September. The £300 million extension will add 330,000 sq ft of new catering and leisure to Meadowhall, as well as enhanced public realm and other amenities.
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 £18.1 billion (British Land share: £13.5 billion) as at 30 September 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 49% 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 awarded a five star rating in the 2017 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark for the second 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.
Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.co
Enquiries:
Jackie Janssen
British Land
020 7467 3449
Pip Wood
British Land
020 7467 2838
Amanda McNally
Aver
020 3514 2137
Nick Thornton
Aver
020 3514 2148
Source: British Land
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