Coup for Meadowhall as centre keeps attracting new retailers

The iconic international retailer has said it will only open stores in the UK in selective locations.

The brand currently has two stores in the UK in New Bond Street in central London and Westfield Stratford City in East London.

In a coup for Yorkshire’s shopping centres, Victoria’s Secret has also announced plans to open up in the Trinity Leeds £350m development, which is due to open in March.

Meadowhall’s centre director Darren Pearce said retailers need to realise that new competition often means new opportunities.

“New retail development in the region is good news for the local economy, as heralded by the launch of Leeds Trinity taking place later this Spring and the ongoing redevelopment to The Moor in Sheffield city centre,” he said. “Collaboration is another key message for retailers.”

British Land, which owns Meadowhall alongside Norges Bank Investment Management, said the shopping centre is attracting new retailers as it expands its premium retail offer.

British Land said it is performing well despite tough markets.

The property company said that occupancy rates were unchanged at 97.7 per cent during the three months to December 31 with rents in administration remaining low at 0.8 per cent.

The group’s chief executive, Chris Grigg, said: “The business continues to perform well in markets which remain tough overall. We’ve continued to see good demand for our properties, which means our occupancy remains high and our developments are now significantly pre-let well ahead of completion.

“While we remain cautious about the near-term environment, we are confident that British Land is not only defensive in today’s challenging markets but also well positioned to deliver future growth from existing and new investments.”

Mr Pearce said that despite the current economic uncertainty for both customers and retailers, 2012 was a strong year for Meadowhall as it opened its doors to over 25 million shoppers.

The shopping centre invested £7m last year in its newly refurbished Oasis Dining Quarter and has pushed high end designer brands, which now include LK Bennett, Creme de la Mer, MAC, Urban Outfitters, Hobbs and Vans.

“With real incomes still under pressure and consumer confidence still reasonably low, one of retail’s biggest challenges is to offer shoppers not just products but an experience,” said Mr Pearce.

He said the centre plans to explore new avenues across its digital platforms to capitalise on the increasingly virtual shopping experience driven by mobile technologies.

“By the end of 2013 it is thought that more consumers will make purchases via their mobile phones than their credit card, and it is therefore crucial that we acknowledge the importance of these new technologies when we look at our current facilities,” he said.

British Land said a recent run of retailer failures across its portfolio including HMV and Jessops had pushed the number of units in administration to 1.2 per cent from 0.8 per cent at the end of 2012.

“There were a number of failures, but they were principally failures we expected,” said Mr Grigg. “We have a great record of re-letting space.”

British Land also said it will work closely with private equity group Blackstone as it attempts to sell its half stake in London office and retail complex Broadgate, a deal that could net the US fund a sevenfold return in four years.

Blackstone bought its share of the 30-acre Broadgate site in London’s financial district from British Land in September 2009 for £77m, a stake now valued at £520.5m after debt.

A sale of Blackstone’s stake in Broadgate would be one of London’s largest property transactions in recent years.

The process appears to have taken a step forward since a lock-up agreement expired late last year, allowing a sale to go ahead.

British Land publicly acknowledged Blackstone could sell out of Broadgate yesterday, saying: “We intend to retain our 50 per cent stake and work closely with Blackstone through any sale process.”

Mr Grigg said the original sale to Blackstone had enabled his company to rebalance its London portfolio between the City and the West End districts and press ahead with developments that will bring in large profits.

“One can always look back and say ‘if I knew then what I know now’, but we sold at the time to give us financial flexibility,” he said.

Investec analyst Alan Carter said: “It was always strategically the right thing for British Land to cut its exposure to the City but I have always questioned the timing.” The Broadgate development, which is adjacent to Liverpool Street train station, was built between 1984 and 2008.

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