Major high street retailers Holland & Barrett and Smyths Toys Superstores are the latest signings at St. Modwen’s £100 million Longbridge Town Centre.
Holland & Barrett has recently opened the doors at its 2,400 sq ft unit next to Mountain Warehouse within the Town Centre, joining Boots, Poundland and the Midlands’ largest M&S at the fast maturing scheme. The health food chain has signed a 10 year lease at £85,000 per annum.
Smyths Toys – one of the UK’s leading providers of children’s entertainment products – is taking 15,000 sq ft of space on a 15 year lease, on a starting rent of £300,000 with the store due to open in October, creating a raft of new jobs.
Ailbhe Carroll, Property Manager at Smyths Toys said: “With a great mix of retailers and an outstanding location, Longbridge Town Centre presents us with an opportunity to significantly increase our retail offer in the area.
“We are pleased to be creating employment opportunities for local people and look forward to offering our customers the best range and quality of children’s products at the most competitive prices.”
The two new signings mean that the second phase of Longbridge Town Centre is now close to full capacity.
Other existing Town Centre occupiers include Sainsbury’s, Costa Coffee, Subway, EE, Countrywide Estate Agents, Greggs Bakery and Tailor Made dry cleaners and tailors.
Mike Murray, Development Director at St. Modwen, said: “Holland & Barrett and Smyths Toys Superstores are two of the most successful names in UK retail at the moment and their commitment to Longbridge is a major endorsement of the growing success of the town centre and the Longbridge development as a whole.
“With 64,000 shoppers now visiting the town centre each week, we are fulfilling our vision of creating a thriving retail destination as well as a hub for the hundreds of thousands of people who live, work and study at Longbridge.
“We are in talks with a number of interested retailers for the last two units, and we expect to progress plans for phase 3 – which will be leisure-led – later this year.”
St. Modwen has invested £300 million in transforming the former MG Rover site since 2003, equating to £25 million per year. Four hundred family homes have been created along with shops, eateries, offices, the £66m Bournville College, Longbridge Technology Park and the new Austin Park. Works have started on site on the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) Accommodation Building and Longbridge Retirement Village is due to open in 2017.