British Land announces six new signings and upsizes as refurbishment moves into its next phase at Meadowhall

LONDON, 2017-Mar-29 — /EPR Retail News/ — British Land, joint owner of Meadowhall, Yorkshire’s premier shopping destination, has announced six new signings and upsizes totalling over 85,000 sq ft as the £60 million refurbishment moves into its next phase.

• Primark is to extend its existing unit by 21,000 sq ft, creating a 95,500 sq ft flagship store. The increase in size is being facilitated by a move into the former BHS unit.
• Sports Direct has leased the remainder of the former BHS unit increasing its presence to 44,000 sq ft. Works are already underway to create the larger stores for both brands, with the new regional flagships due to launch this autumn.
• Family value homewares and household goods retailer, Wilko, will move into the 14,500 sq ft former Sports Direct store in early 2018.
• Following the success of the schuh store, a new 2,850 sq ft schuh kids specialist store will be opening next door on Meadowhall’s High Street. Launching in April, the store will take the brand’s total presence to almost 9,000 sq ft.
• Outdoor clothing retailer Timberland, is launching a new look 1,950 sq ft store on Meadowhall’s High Street in April.
• Second Cup is to open one of its first UK flagship coffee shops on Meadowhall’s Arcade. The 1,560 sq ft café will open later this month as the brand’s ‘black label’ site for the UK, featuring the company’s latest interior design concept.

These signings coincide with the next stage of Meadowhall’s refurbishment. After completion of The Arcade, work is shifting to Meadowhall’s Gallery, High Street and Park Lane, where each mall will be given a different look and feel, using high quality materials, increasing natural light, and improving sightlines. The £60m refurbishment completes at the end of the year and is the most significant investment in the centre since it opened.

Commenting on the news, Richard Crowther, Asset Manager for British Land, said: “With the refurbishment gathering pace, more and more brands are seeking to locate their leading stores at Meadowhall. For many, this means expanding their existing presence, allowing them to stock their full product range and benefit from the placemaking activities British Land brings to all its retail centres.

“These signings are ahead of previous rents, complement the refurbishment and reaffirm Meadowhall’s reputation as the leading shopping destination in the region. This is a very exciting time for the centre.”

Tom Meager, Group Director of Property at Primark, added: “The chance to create a larger store at Meadowhall was one we could not miss. We will open our new store at Meadowhall just as British Land completes the bulk of its refurbishment, so the timing could not be better.”

The latest signings and upsizes follow recent openings by Nespresso, Hawes & Curtis, T2, The Entertainer, Barburrito, Coffika, and Pret A Manger, along with new larger stores for JD Sports and Virgin Holidays.

CBRE, Smith Young and Davis Coffer Lyons acted for Meadowhall. Central Retail, Rawstron Johnson and BNP Paribas represented Primark, Sports Direct and Wilko respectively. Harper Dennis Hobbs and CBRE acted for schuh kids and Timberland. Space Retail acted for Second Cup.

About British Land
We are one of Europe’s largest publicly listed real estate companies. We own, manage, develop and finance a portfolio of high quality UK commercial property, focused on Retail and London Offices and Residential. We own or manage total assets of £19.0 billion (British Land share is £13.9 billion) as valued at 30 September 2016. Our properties are home to over 1,200 different organisations ranging from international brands to local start-ups.

Our strategy is to create Places People Prefer. It is based on long term trends and creates a portfolio suited to current and future needs which are aligned to modern lifestyles. We employ our placemaking skills, and increasingly our mixed-use expertise to expand the appeal to a broader range of occupiers and drive long term performance.

Retail accounts for 49% of our portfolio. We create outstanding places for modern consumer lifestyles, places to shop, eat and be entertained. Comprising over 20 million sq ft of Retail and Leisure space across regional and local multi-let destinations, superstores, department stores and leisure assets, the Retail portfolio is modern, flexible and adaptable to a wide range of formats.

Office and Residential accounts for 49% of our portfolio. It comprises 7.6 million sq ft of well-connected office-led campuses and ‘campus-lite’ clusters of high quality buildings. Office campuses include Regent’s Place and Paddington Central in the West End and Broadgate (50% share) in the City. Other assets include York House, 10 Portman Square and Marble Arch House and our residential assets are at Clarges Mayfair, The Hempel Collection and Aldgate Place.

Two per cent of our portfolio is at Canada Water – a 46 acre redevelopment opportunity in our medium term pipeline to create a new mixed-use urban centre for London.

Sustainability is embedded throughout our business. Our places become part of their local communities and promote health, improve productivity and increase enjoyment. We protect asset value through energy generation and efficiency, materials innovation and flood risk reduction and we develop skills and opportunities to help local people and businesses grow.

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 benefits achievements over the last five years.

Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com.

SOURCE: British Land