Crowds flock to Trinity Leeds for opening
TRINITY Leeds officially opened yesterday with the team behind it claiming its retail offer was “off the scale”.
Thousands of shoppers and interested members of the public queued at the centre’s doors before being let in for the opening.
The highlight of the launch was a Cirque du Soleil-style performance which also profiled a stunning dress from fashion designer Henry Holland which was said to be the largest in the world.
Speaking to TheBusinessDesk.tv, Gerald Jennings, portfolio director at developer Land Securities, the company behind the scheme, said Trinity Leeds was bringing new international retail names to the city and the region.
Mr Jennings said the project was a major investment for Land Securities but that it had been made because the group was confident about the region.
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Andrew Dudley, director of project management at Land Securities, said: “Look at the quality of the retailers. It’s really off the scale. This really is a flagship offering.
“Trinity Leeds is the future of retailing. The quality of the spec, the features and the offering is top draw. It’s the range of brands that has not been seen before.”
The 1m sq ft, the £378 million centre is 90% let, with 5% in solicitors’ hands. Tenants include 46 brands new to Leeds, such as Apple, Mango, Hollister, Superdry, D&D restaurants and Everyman Cinema.
The centre, designed by architects Chapman Taylor, houses approximately 100 shops and 20 restaurants under a glass domed roof designed by SKM Anthony Hunts, the designers behind the Eden Project.
Mr Dudley pointed to the shopping centre’s advanced digital capability, including interactive LCD screens, LED advertising screens which link to retailer websites and promotions, Google product search, a Trinity Leeds app featuring GPS (Android and Apple) and free wifi.
Officially opening Trinity Leeds, Robert Noel, chief executive of Land Securities, said: “Trinity is good for the people of Leeds, good for retailers and is already a big success for Land Securities.
“Despite economic uncertainty, major shifts in retailing habits and a challenging city centre site, Land Securities has built Trinity Leeds on time, on budget and nearly fully let at opening. Trinity Leeds demonstrates both Land Securities’ ability to develop profitably in challenging conditions and our confidence in Leeds as a prime retailing destination.
“Land Securities is a long-term investor in Leeds and we have every confidence that Trinity Leeds will be a huge success”.
Coun Keith Wakefield, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “We welcome the opening of this major development which speaks volumes for Leeds and the confidence that a long-term investor of Land Securities’ calibre has in the city’s future.”
And Tom Riordan, the chief executive of Leeds City Council, said Trinity Leeds was one of the “magnificent seven” projects he had wanted to be built in the city when he took on the role.
“This is a big and important piece of the jigsaw puzzle for Leeds but it’s only a piece. But Leeds really is the place to be.”
Mr Riordan added that the completion of the project was also a demonstration of how the Council had worked with Land Securities to enable it to happen despite the economic downturn.
Speaking to TheBusinessDesk.com earlier this week, Tom Limbert of Central Retail, a retail letting agent on the scheme, said he believed Trinity Leeds would encourage activity on the high street, rather than the opposite, which has been suggested by some.
