Hat-trick of openings fills retail park at Merry Hill
B&Q, Costa and Bensons for Beds have all opened new stores at the Black Country shopping destination, amounting to 33,8000 sq ft of floorspace.
Billed as a ‘top 10 super regional centre,’ Merry Hill has been undergoing a refurbishment programme that also saw new space added to the mix, all of which has been accounted for in this trio of deals.
B&Q has opened a new 23,000 sq ft store, offering more than 12,000 products, and including a dedicated timber cutting service, a Valspar paint mixing station, and a garden centre with outdoor plants and gardening equipment.
Costa has also opened its latest café across 2,800 sq ft, adding to its existing locations at Merry Hill. Bensons for Beds has cut the ribbon on an 8,000 sq ft showroom.
Nick Round, senior asset manager at Sovereign Centros from CBRE, said: “Merry Hill has now completed the leasing of its retail park, bringing a comprehensive collection of brands that our community want to see in that unique retail environment.
“The retail park is an important part of the destination, providing even greater choice and experiences for our community, and these latest openings ensure we are aligned with their needs.”
The series of new openings at the retail park builds on news from earlier this year, when Merry Hill announced nearly 79,000 sq ft of new signings and reinvestments at its lower retail park, including lease renewals from key occupiers B&M Bargains and Matalan.
JLL, Time Retail Partners, and Font Real Estate represent Merry Hill.
In total, the Merry Hill estate in Brierley Hill amounts to 92 acres, with 1.4m sq ft of trading space. The asset was put on the market in September, on the back of a £125m investment programme that has taken it to more than 96% let. The asking price, through Knight Frank, is understood to be £250m+.
Like a number of other shopping centres, Merry Hill’s ownership was complicated by the collapse of intu in 2020. It is currently controlled by a consortium of lenders, including Wells Fargo and Axa Investment Management.
Market appetite for shopping centres is hard to judge. Norges Bank bought out partner British Land’s 50% stake in South Yorkshire destination Meadowhall last year for £360m, but the proposed sale of a half-share in Manchester Arndale by intu investors was shelved in September this year.
