£60m refurbishment of Meadowhall is complete

British Land, joint owner of Sheffield super-mall Meadowhall, has revealed its £60m refurbishment is now complete.

In addition to the £60m spent on the centre a further £40m was invested by brands upgrading their stores and new brands arriving at the scheme.

As a result British Land says Meadowhall's performance has already improved with footfall up 8% over Black Friday making it the busiest yet. The prime Zone A rental tone has risen to over £400, reflecting very strong demand for space with 30 new retailers signing in the last 18 months.

Head of retail, leisure and residential for British Land Charles Maudsley said: “The transformation we have achieved at Meadowhall is a great example of how we have listened to our customers and responded to their needs to create space that works for shoppers and enables retailers to thrive in an omni-channel world. It also demonstrates the value we place in working in partnership with the community to deliver significant, long-lasting benefits to the Sheffield City Region.”

Highlights of the refurbishment include:

- The creation of four districts each with a distinctive character and offer

- Columns and bulkheads have been reduced or removed creating lighter, brighter malls, with new glazing, improved lighting and new customer seating added.

- Double height flagship formats introduced by brands, including All Saints and Hollister.

- New brands added including the first-ever physical store for online retailer Joe Browns, as well as Michael Kors, Flannels, Urban Decay, Skinny Dip, Tag Heuer, iSmash, Diesel, Joules, Jack Wills, Neal’s Yard, Nespresso, T2, schuh Kids, Pret a Manger, GBK, Barburrito, and Tapas Revolution.

- Upsizings or increased brand presence by Primark, River Island, Sports Direct, Build-A-Bear, JD Sports, Virgin Holidays and The Entertainer

- Redesigns by existing occupiers including House of Fraser, M&S, Yo! Sushi, Timberland, Ted Baker, and Molton Brown.

British Land says more than 1,200 jobs were created to deliver the transformation of the centre and of the £60m invested 50% was spent with SMEs.