Shopping centres give £320m boost to local economy

Shopping centres intu Victoria Centre and intu Broadmarsh contributed £320m to the local economy last year according to a report by owner intu.

The report also says that 8,284 jobs were also supported by intu in Nottingham, representing three per cent of all jobs in the local area.

intu owns many of the UK’s largest and most popular shopping centres and the research by planning and development consultancy Lichfields measured each centre’s economic contribution to reveal the value Britain’s best-loved retail destinations bring to their local areas.

It found that including intu’s employees, people working in retail and in areas linked to running its centres, such as delivery and maintenance, intu supported a total of 132,950 jobs and contributed £4.8bn to the UK economy last year. This is an increase on 128,490 jobs and an economic contribution of £4.6bn in 2017.

The number of people employed in retail at intu centres also grew by more than 4%, from 96,350 in 2017 to 100,652 in 2018.

The growth in jobs can be partly attributed to intu’s ongoing investment in new developments such as Clocktower dining at intu Victoria Centre. intu invested £169m on new development projects across the country in 2018 alone and is planning a further £600m of investment over the next 10 years such as the redevelopment of intu Broadmarsh.

Matthew Roberts, intu chief executive, said: “Retail is a sector that Britain can really be proud of. The best shopping centres employ people in a wide variety of jobs across the length and breadth of the country and are catalysts that create economic and social value.

“intu supports more than 130,000 jobs and contributes billions to the prosperity and wellbeing of communities around the country. Flagship centres such as intu Victoria Centre and intu Broadmarsh play an important role in the lives of communities across the UK, not only in terms of the jobs we create but also the taxes we generate as well as the causes we support to improve the lives and wellbeing of people in our neighbourhoods.”

intu’s total contribution to local charities and community organisations also reached £1.7m last year thanks to initiatives to help people into work, to make its centres more accessible and to support activities that promote health, wellbeing and social inclusion.

Nigel Wheatley, general manager at intu Victoria Centre and intu Broadmarsh added: “We love demonstrating a commitment to the community in Nottingham, with our teams at both intu Victoria Centre and intu Broadmarsh getting involved. Each year, we continue to develop long-term community partnerships – in 2018 our teams supported them with over 200 hours and we’re enjoying working with eight partners in 2019.”