New Lettings Secured at Meadowhall

RNS Number : 2599F

British Land Co PLC

11 November 2015

 



British Land mixes it up with a burst of new lettings at Meadowhall

British Land is pleased to announce that it has secured an impressive 11 new lettings totalling nearly 28,000 sq ft at Meadowhall, one of the UK's leading regional shopping centres and Yorkshire's premier shopping destination. The lettings follow Meadowhall's recent 25th birthday celebrations and the launch of a £50 million internal refurbishment of the centre which began in late September.

The new lettings range from fashion, jewellery, restaurants and international cosmetic and beauty offerings, further strengthening the centre's appeal to premium consumers:

-      Jack Wills (3,550 sq ft)

-      Diesel (3,595 sq ft)

-      Michael Kors (2,195  sq ft)

-      Kiko Milano (1,200 sq ft)

-      Joules (2,860 sq ft,)

-      Lush (1,780 sq ft), the brand's second best performing store in the UK

-      L'Occitane (1,595 sq ft), relocating from the High Street to Park Lane

-      Build-a-Bear (2,680 sq ft), the first of their new style shop fit in the UK

-      Goldsmiths (3,240 sq ft), extending further onto Park Lane, after taking a new Goldsmiths Boutique store

-      Rolex is to open a concession within the centre's planned new Goldsmiths store

Recent restaurant lettings include:

-      Tapas Revolution (2,000 sq ft)

-      Five Guys (3,160 sq ft)

The deals are testament to the quality of Meadowhall as a retail destination with the highest retail conversion rate of any of super regional in the country (97%). A number of the lettings are located within the Park Lane area of the centre which received a £3 million refresh last year.  This was part of the continuous investment and active asset management that has led to consistent year-on-year outperformance of Meadowhall.

British Land is currently in discussions with other premium retailers and it is anticipated that more brands will sign up over the coming months.  The White Company, Cadenza, White Stuff and Jigsaw have opened at Meadowhall this year.

Richard Crowther, Asset Manager, British Land said: "This impressive list of new lettings is further evidence of how investing in our assets yields results, and is testament to our strong relationships with retailers. The success of the Park Lane refurbishment gives us confidence that the centre wide works will further position Meadowhall as a leading shopping destination and will ensure we meet the evolving needs of our occupiers and shoppers."

The internal refurbishment is due for completion by the end of 2017. It is expected to significantly enhance the centre and ensure Meadowhall remains a modern shopping environment for both retailers and consumers.

Enquiries:

Investor Relations

Sally Jones, British Land                                                     020 7467 2942

Media

Pip Wood, British Land                                                       020 7467 2838

Charlotte Whitley, British Land                                            020 7467 2933

Naomi Galt, FTI Consulting                                                  020 3727 1182

Gordon Simpson, Finsbury Group                                        020 7251 3801

Notes to Editors

About Meadowhall Shopping Centre

Meadowhall is one of only six super-regional shopping centres in the UK.  Located on junction 34 of the M1, the centre has 1.4 million sq ft of prime retail and leisure space developed on the site of a former steelworks and attracts over 23.5 million shoppers a year.  The centre, opened in 1990, is built on levels within a crescent-shaped mall and comprises 310 shops let to a broad range of popular international, national and local retail brands. The leisure offer now boasts 50 restaurants and cafes and an 11-screen cinema. The centre also benefits from 12,000 free car parking spaces, as well as the centre's own public transport interchange for local and regional bus, train and Supertram services that run throughout the day.

Meadowhall is jointly owned by British Land and Norges Bank Investment Management.  

Further details can be found on the Meadowhall website at www.meadowhall.co.uk.

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 commercial property, focused on retail locations around the UK and London Offices & Residential. We have total assets in the UK, owned or managed of £19.0 billion (British Land share of which is £12.8 billion), as valued at 30 September 2014. Our properties are home to over 1,000 different organisations and receive over 340 million visits each year. Our objective is to deliver long-term and sustainable total returns to our shareholders and we do this by focusing on Places People Prefer. People have a choice where they work, shop and live and we aim to create outstanding places which make a positive difference to people's everyday lives. Our customer orientation enables us to develop a deep understanding of the people who use our places. We employ a lean team of experts, who have the skills to translate this understanding into creating the right places, and we have an efficient capital structure which is able to effectively finance these places.

UK Retail assets account for 54% of our portfolio. As the UK's largest listed owner and manager of retail space, our portfolio is well matched to the different ways people shop today, from major regional shopping centres to single occupier locations. We are focused on being the destination of choice for retailers and their customers by being the best provider of spaces and services. Comprising around 25 million sq ft of retail space across retail parks, superstores, shopping centres, department stores and leisure assets, the retail portfolio is modern, flexible and adaptable to a wide range of formats.

Our Office and Residential portfolio, which accounts for 46% of our portfolio is focused on London.  We have an attractive mix of high quality buildings in well managed environments and a pipeline of development projects which will add significantly to our portfolio. Increasingly, our offices are in mixed-use environments which include retail and residential elements. Our 7.9 million sq ft of high quality office space includes Regent's Place and Paddington Central in the West End and Broadgate, the premier city office campus (50% share).

Our size and substance demands a responsible approach to business. We believe leadership on issues such as sustainability helps drive our performance and is core to the delivery of our overall objective of driving shareholder value and creating Places People Prefer.

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

 

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