Cardiff shopping centre St David’s has improved its offer and retained its status as the most attractive shopping centre in Wales in spite of tough trading conditions, new research reveals.
Trevor Wood Associates has published the latest edition of its regular report Going Shopping – The Definitive Guide to Shopping Centres.This report ranks Britain’s top 500 shopping centres on their overall attractiveness to customers, based on factors including their size, tenants, weekly footfall and other facilities.
St David’s, owned by Capital Shopping Centres and Land Securities, was opened in 2009 after a major redevelopment. The centre is now ranked 10th most attractive shopping centre in the UK, a position it retains since the 2011 report. It is also only one of three centres in the top ten to maintain or improve its performance, partly due to attracting new tenants: Vivienne Westwood and Armani Exchange are among the retailers to open in recent months.
The Quadrant in Swansea has slipped 15 places to 160th while Wrexham’s Eagle’s Meadow, which was opened in 2008, has improved its performance since the 2011 report and has risen 17 places to 182nd in this year’s league table.
Across the whole of the UK, the research shows how the recession is having a big impact on the mix of tenants in major shopping centres.
High street chemist Boots is now rated as the leading tenant in UK shopping centres, climbing from third place in the table, and replacing ailing chain Clinton Cards, which dropped from top to 17th position. Struggling computer game retailer Game has also dropped out of the top ten, while new entrants to the top ten include Costa Coffee, Card Factory and Phones 4 U.
Trevor Wood Associates also shows how the recession has taken a toll on the pipeline of new developments, which is at its lowest level since this piece of research was first published in 1998. The retail property specialist identified just 87 proposed new schemes or major extensions to existing schemes that are thought likely to proceed before the end of 2019.
These include the 475,000 sq ft scheme Friars Walk in Newport, which is being developed by Queensberry Real Estate and Newport City Council. The centre is due to open in 2015 and be anchored by Debenhams.