Deals secured at White Rose lead to new jobs
THREE deals have been secured at White Rose Shopping Centre creating an additional 40 job opportunities within the Leeds scheme.
Simply Be, Jacamo and Quiz have opened in the centre for the first time and Bank has doubled the size of its store, with a combined floor space of more than 16,000 sq ft.
Fashion retailers, Simply Be and Jacamo, owned by N Brown Group, recently announced a roll out of a further 23 stores across the UK, with the White Rose store being the first to launch as part of the high street plan.
Harlan Pollitt, portfolio manager of White Rose owner, Land Securities, said: “This is fantastic news for White Rose. The volume of transactions in 2013 has been really encouraging and in the past six months alone we have secured 15 new leases.
“To welcome such brands as Simply Be and Jacamo, which are not only new to White Rose, but new to West Yorkshire is a huge achievement and testament to the leading profile of the centre.”
Simply Be and Jacamo have opened in the North Mall, in a dual concept unit totalling 7,400 sq ft. Both clothing stores opened on last week and will be the first to launch in West Yorkshire and only the eighth store to open in the UK. Fast-fashion retailer Quiz opened its doors in the centre in a 2,400 sq ft unit located in the Central Atrium and Bank has more than doubled the size of its floor space, taking it to 6,800sq ft.
Pollitt added: “The upsizing of Bank is particularly good news as the need to increase its floor space is a direct result of continued sales growth and the desire of more product choices from our 12.5m shoppers. The store is already dual trading with a Bank unit in Leeds city centre which further highlights retailers’ confidence in White Rose.”
Land Securities has aspirations to further develop the food and leisure offering within White Rose. It has recently submitted a planning application to Leeds City Council for a multi-screen cinema, four additional new catering outlets and additional retail space, including extensions to the existing Debenhams and Primark stores with the planning decision expected by the end of the year.
