Fresh opportunities lie ahead for landmark building as it marks milestone

THE chairman and chief executive of Town Centre Securities (TCS) has said more opportunities are on the horizon for one of Leeds’s best known shopping centres as it celebrates a major milestone.

Speaking to TheBusinessDesk.com Edward Ziff hailed The Merrion Centre, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, as a core asset of the listed Leeds-headquartered property company.

Plans for the complex, which includes shops and restaurants, could now include the city’s first Trampoline Park, under operator Gravity. Plans outline more than 6,500 sqft of trampoline space capable of allowing up to 200 people in. A bid has been submitted to Leeds City Council but planners have only been asked to determine if converting the building into a trampoline park would be lawful, as the application doesn’t involve any changes to the exterior of the building and the space would continue to be used for leisure use.

Meanwhile, Ziff said the business is currently in discussions with “two or three” brands to develop the former Merrion Hotel, which closed around 18 months ago, and has “just about” selected which one it is going to go with. Ziff said this will be announced by the end of the year but currently nothing has been decided as to what is happening with the site.

The Merrion Centre was the largest indoor shopping centre in the UK when Arnold Ziff, Edward’s father, opened its doors for the first time in 1964. Now, 50 years on, it has a value of £116.1m and welcomed 10.6m visitors last year. £10m has recently been spent on redeveloping the centre’s new Arena Leisure Quarter development which faces first direct arena.

Mr Ziff said his long-term plans for TCS and the centre, which is 97% let, are “more of the same”.

“The Merrion Centre is absolutely core to what the business does. If Merrion Centre performs well, the business does. It’s our biggest single property so it is vital we get it right,” he said.

“There are fantastic opportunities for us here – the Arena Leisure Quarter Development,  the car park refurbishment, Merrion House – there is lots happening.”

Looking ahead, Mr Ziff highlighted the fact that the building is only one storey high. “There’s opportunity to build up,” he said.

While Ziff said building up is not an imminent plan, it is one that TCS would look into in the future.

Ziff said there are interesting discussions going on in regards to the centre and  opportunities to “grasp right now”, such as working with tenants keen to relocate into bigger units.

The refurbishment of Wade House, an office building based at the Merrion Centre with tenants including Step Change, the regional head office for The Princes Trust, will be on the agenda for the next few years, too, as well as more immediate plans for Morrisons to upgrade its store in the centre.

Further afield, Ziff said Hammerson’s Victoria Gate project and the opening of Trinity has been “great” for Leeds.

“The retail projects taking place are great for Leeds. The city has lacked retail development in recent years and yes, there might be a bit of indigestion when retailers relocate into new schemes and there may be a bit of a lull and empty units, but there’s always that knock-on effect with this sort of development and it will sort itself out.”

Ziff said the opening of Trinity hasn’t affected the Merrion Centre and highlighted that for a scheme to be a success it has to be focused on “the right property, the right tenant and the right rent”. “It’s a simple thing when you get it right,” he said.
 
“We plan, plan and plan to make sure we don’t make mistakes. We are very active in how we manage Merrion Centre and are focussed on how we do it.”

TCS was founded with a capital of £1,000 on March 17 1959 and was listed in 1960.

It is a leading property investment and development company with assets in London, Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The group has a property portfolio exceeding £300m and annual income of over £22m and an occupancy rate based upon income (rather than square footage) of 98%. Last year, £11.6m was spent on new acquisitions.