Karli Edmondson
Posted: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 12:27 pm

The portfolio of shopping centres owned by Scottish Widows Investment Partnership is seeing significant letting activity with more than 80 lets completed across their seven centres this year. 

The most activity is in their biggest development - Kingfisher Shopping Centre, Redditch in Worcestershire. The centre at more than 1m sq ft has just let the former Woolworths unit to New Look and the fashion store is aiming for a pre-Christmas opening. The other big signing of 2010 is JD Sports who are taking a newly configured 5,000 sq ft store in the scheme - and both lets are on the back of several million pound investment by SWIP in refurbishments of the centres four car parks over the last two years.

 The second largest centre in the group is Bury's Mill Gate Shopping Centre at just over 400,000 sq ft. The centre faces stiff competition this summer but despite this Mill Gate has consolidated its position as the town's shopping centre - and has landed six new retailers in as many months including Costa, HMV and a doubling in size of one of the Centre's original retailers, David Spruce. SWIP have also invested almost £1m on the centre's 550-space car park - and have plans up their sleeve for improvements to areas of the scheme that would improve links with Bury's award-winning market - that attracts 12 million visitors a year - as well as with the town's Metro and Bus terminus. The Centre regularly tops 300,000 shoppers per week on its footfall count.

 In Banbury, Castle Quay Shopping Centre - at just under 390,000 sq ft - is the third of SWIP's "big three". The centre is rapidly claiming the crown as Oxfordshire's fashion destination having landed New Look, H&M, River Island in the last 12 months - building on their collection that already includes Next, Dorothy Perkins, Debenhams, Bhs, M&S, GAP, Ann Summers, Burton and, most recently, Monsoon. From the centre's own research, it is drawing more and more shoppers from the affluent areas of the Cotswolds and around the north and west of Oxford. 

Peter Webb, Senior Investment Manager at Scottish Widows explains: "We have joint agents across the portfolio - but one consistent throughout - and that is helping us to convert a range of opportunities at local, regional and national national levels throughout the seven centres." Peter adds: "But it is the big three where we are seeing the most movement - and now have more than 34 retail partners consistent across Redditch, Bury and Banbury." 

And Peter's pleased with the direction of the schemes too, adding: "We know these are incredibly tough times, but despite the climate, all these three have footfall that is consistently up week-on-week versus 2009." Peter explains: "That is testament to the way the Centres are run, managed and promoted - and it also reflects the work we are doing to keep our retail offer fresh and relevant to our shoppers." 

Andy Criss of Jackson Criss who act across the portfolio agrees, saying: "It is about boxing clever - seeing the opportunity to find the space retailers want rather than trying to fit round pegs into square holes." Andy explains: "As one example, we have worked hard to create the right solution for Barclays Bank who have taken 10,000 sq ft over three floors in a newly created unit at Kingfisher Shopping Centre. They have signed a 15 years lease and are shop fitting now for an early autumn opening."

 The remaining centres in the portfolio are Abbey Shopping Centre in Abingdon where SWIP are looking to more than double the 100,000 sq ft town centre site following public consultation this year by adding a food store. In Crewe, the town is still coming to terms with the shelved Modus development, but SWIP are capitalising - again, reconfiguring The Market Shopping Centre to bring in retailers that, in Andy's words "best reflect and will better serve shoppers in the catchment". At just over 150,000 sq ft, the centre already has Argos, Iceland, Wilkinson as anchors, but the drive - as elsewhere - is to meet the demand for more fashion. Castle Court Shopping Centre in Caerphilly - of equal size and anchored by Morrisons, Argos, Poundland and Mothercare - and Town Square Shopping Centre in Basildon with 31 units, completes the portfolio.

 Peter concludes: "There are shopping centre portfolios that are marketed as such - but our group is very different. Each is branded and promoted as a unique entity - and our focus is on meeting the needs of our partners, whether retailers or shoppers - to drive footfall and performance."