CSC plans new Trafford Centre leisure attraction

CAPITAL Shopping Centres has said that it has agreed terms with an operator to bring a “major new leisure attraction” to the Trafford Centre.

Subject to planning approval, the company will look to install an aquarium within Barton Square.

The London-based retail giant said the introduction was part of its “focus on creating a dynamic environment for shoppers and retailers, in particular to meet demand for more catering and leisure attractions” at its major centres, which include Braehead near Glasgow, Cribbs Causeway in Bristol and Manchester’s Arndale Centre.

In a trading update this morning, CSC also said it had introduced Nespresso as a new retail brand at Trafford Centre, which it bought from Peel last year in a £1.6bn deal. Clothing retailer Surperdry is also set to extend the size of its Trafford centre store by moving into a neighbouring unit. The retailer is also opening a new unit at Manchester Arndale, where a former Superdry unit had been operated by a licensee.

Since the beginning of the year, footfall at CSC’s centres has fallen by 2%, but the company said this was better than the national average, which showed a 3% decline.

It also saw tenants representing 3% of its total rent roll entering into administration, or around 75 units.

Already, 25% of these have been re-let, and the remaining 50 are counted as vacant even if some retailers remain trading from them. This meant its overall occupancy rate currently stands at 94.3%.

“As long as the UK economy remains flat, we expect the letting environment to continue to be challenging. However, due to robust evidence, we have seen positive rent review settlements in the period, notably at Manchester Arndale’s northern extension and for Lakeside’s department stores,” the company said.

David Fischel, chief executive of Capital Shopping Centres Group, said: “CSC is determined to provide the best experience to shoppers and to continue to attract leading retailers to our prime regional centres.

“While the UK retail environment remains tough, we continue to benefit from last year’s transformational Trafford Centre acquisition as we focus on securing the right retailers in the right places paying the right rents with the objective of achieving strong total returns from our assets.”