Four key lettings mark first anniversary of Trafford Palazzo acquisition
Manchester-based landlord Peel L&P has added four new flagship occupiers at Trafford Palazzo, which was transformed from the former Barton Square in Trafford City, since its acquisition and rebrand last year.
The 340,016 sq ft retail and leisure destination was transformed with a new brand introduced that nods to the classic Italian architecture and culture – with its soaring pillars, open square, large fountain, and campanile tower.
Since acquiring the asset, the team has secured four new flagship occupiers letting more than 58,711 sq ft of space to brands such as NERF Action, Archies, state of the art bowling alley King Pins, and entrepreneur Steve Pilling’s Italian restaurant Matterello.
The team has also introduced a series of memorable experiences activating the vast mall space within Trafford Palazzo and attracting average footfall of 100,000 visitors a week.
Events and celebrations have included various fundraisers for charities including Bolton Lads and Girls Club, an appeal for Ukraine, events celebrating the Queens Jubilee, a fundraising event for Baby Loss Awareness Week and a campaign to support Mental Health Awareness Week.
The spectacular backdrop of Trafford Palazzo has provided the space to host several events across the school holidays aimed at families including an Easter Extravaganza, a bespoke Wellness Month of wellbeing activities, a Christmas Winter Wonderland and has as a jam-packed summer schedule.
As part of this wide events programme, Peel has also given a platform to local, young, aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners with pop-up opportunities offered free of charge. Businesses have included Manchester Gymnastics, Instagram and Manchester favourite Feel Good Club and, The Juice Hub who saw record numbers of visitors to the pop up.
Mark Whittaker, executive director – property investment and management at Peel L&P, said: “Trafford Palazzo represents the next generation and evolution of shopping and leisure destinations, offering more diverse experiences and adventures for visitors of all ages over the next 30 years.
“We want Trafford Palazzo to become a hallmark for quality products and memorable experiences, combining the best in retail, leisure, and entertainment – just like the best bustling, Italian squares that provided our inspiration.”
Matt Jones, CEO at King Pins, said: “King Pins is a modern evolution of the outdated family bowling concept and is set to be an altogether different ball game. The incredible setting of Trafford Palazzo is the perfect place to launch our inaugural flagship site, alongside some other fantastic, complementary brands, and we’re excited to be opening soon.”
Sophie Roberts, at Juice Hub, said: “Utilising Trafford Palazzo has been great for our business and has really allowed us to elevate the brand in front of a completely different audience.
“The Health and Wellness event was such a success and I felt so welcomed from the very start. The benefits of partaking in this event have been surreal. The Juice Hub insight figures on Instagram have doubled and we have already received two corporate offers with more on the horizon.”
She added: “Whilst networking and meeting amazing people and brands, this was our first event in a retail space, thus making it a special part of The Juice Hub journey.”
Trafford Palazzo’s growing range of shopping and leisure brands include Primark, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, SEA LIFE, Silentnight, Homesense, Natuzzi, Shoeaholics and Next Home.
The team has also expanded its customer service and security operations with a dedicated on-site customer services team and desk.
Peel L&P acquired Trafford Palazzo in May 2021, following its £75m revamp in 2018, gaining a glass-domed roof and more than 110,000 sq ft of extra leisure and retail space. This acquisition in a transformational new phase for TraffordCity, already one of the UK’s foremost experiential and retail destinations.
