Telford Shopping Centre has been sold off for £442 million, it was revealed today.
The new owners of the 50-acre site have pledged to extend the centre, turning it into more of a “regional destination” by adding more shopping and leisure facilities and residential space.
It has been bought in a joint venture by private development company Hark Group and American company Apollo Real Estate Advisors from the pension fund which owned it before.
They hope to work with Telford & Wrekin Council to improve the link between the town centre and the shopping centre and to help create a “modern mixed use, vibrant living city”.
The deal is being financed by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
William Benjamin, managing director of Apollo Real Estate Advisors in Europe, said: “We are delighted to have acquired Telford Shopping Centre and to have worked with our trusted partners Hark Group and RBS on the deal.
“We look forward to realising the exciting opportunities that this important retail hub affords. We will be working closely with the local council in order to improve the link between the town centre and the shopping centre.”
David Henderson-Williams, of Hark Group, said: “Our intention is to extend the centre by adding more retail, leisure facilities and residential space.
“We look forward to making the scheme into more of a regional destination as it is an ideal location, with links from public transport, M54 and M6 motorways and an excellent retail offering.”
The centre was put up for sale in November by former owner, pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme. The one million sq foot complex attracts 15 million people a year.
Home to some 175 stores and 3,600 car spaces, it is anchored by Asda, Marks & Spencer, Beatties, Debenhams, BHS and Primark.
USS has spent more than £80 million in improving and extending the centre and was also responsible for introducing car parking charges, which angered shoppers.
By Deborah Collins
13 Comments
I trust that the new owners will expand the Centre onto the car parks and make it a public transport destination.
Expand it over and past the railway station and involve the railway station in the ‘culture’ of the “Town Centre” like Birmingham News Street is part of the town.
Please please don’t develop it in the other direction - and ruin the town park - the town park should be ‘ring-fenced’ against any development at all. A Green heart to this (potentially soon to be) anonymous metropolitan clone town.
I think that Harold must be sitting in the sun and the heat is affecting his thinking, if he feels that forcing people to have to use public transport to shop at the Centre is the best solution, then he must be out of his mind. Whre I live in Telford there is no public transport provision.
The next thing that he will suggest is that the council fixes the prices in the shops so that the shops do not make profits.
Telford has a wondeful public transport system with full coverage. Perhaps CID Syd needs to contact Arriva or remove his blinkers?
STOP EXPANDING full stop. The town centre does not need to get any bigger - for gods sake, we will have NO greenery left at this rate!
Blue-eyes is thinking laterally - try thinking vertically! Let’s add a level to the Centre, like the awesome Trafford Centre. Having said that, there is a limit to the number of discount ladies clothes shops, juice bars and mobile phone shops surely….
Harold, the public transport system that does exist, shuts down at night time or has very limited service. If it was tht good why do more people not use the public transport system, is it something to do with the fact the service is not reliable, infrequent, smelly, dirty and expensive.
I spent my teenage years in Telford and hated every minute of it. I couldn’t wait to move away (which I did 7 years ago.) Telford is the pits. The shopping centre is boring and stuffy. Something really needs to be done to make it a more welcoming place for visitors! And Dave, I think expanding to and past the railway station is a great idea.
It was badly designed, poorly built and put in the wrong place.
It has never really been any good as a town centre or shopping mall.
I remember going on a school trip from Uplands Jr School in Wolves in the early 1970’s to see where Telford was going to be built. I have never forgotten the expanse of land before me - EVER.
Anyway that is a side issue, if this Telford Shopping Centre went for £442 million, how much would Telford go for ?
I agree that Telford could have more to offer. Whilst its great to have an iceskating rink and cinema, it has little in the way of restaurants, and must be one of the least cultural towns I have ever visited. I dont know about needing more shops, but more leisure facilities - hurrah!!! And yes I would also use public transport to go to Telford if it was available. The buses into Telford from where I live run only twice a day, and go all round the houses to get there. If reliable regular transport is provided people will use it - however, I also think the prices of public transport in this area are astronomical compared to where I used to live….but thats another subject for another day
TO ANSWER TO JAN PAYNES VALUE OF TELFORD? SOUNDS TO ME FROM LIVING AFAR, BUT FROM THE AREA IN MY YOUTH THE PRICE SHOULD BE ABOUT £7.50 ON A GOOD DAY!
I have lived in Telford for 18yrs approx. To me this place has never had a centre or a heart if developing the shopping centre give it a community then hopefully something positive will come from it