Analysis: Trinity Leeds brings new retail to Yorkshire

Yorkshire’s retail map was redrafted by Trinity Leeds when it opened in March, but the impact of the £350m scheme, at the heart of the UK’s third largest city, looks set to extend beyond the 1 million sq ft of prime retail space added to Leeds city centre.

Trinity Leeds was always going to attract attention - as the first major centre to open in Europe since Westfield Stratford City in September 2011, it is, quite simply, the only show in town.

But while it briefly holds the national gaze, locally its repercussions are likely to be deeply felt - it could reorient the retail axis in the Northeast and Yorkshire, where the existing retail offer is focused on a number of long-standing schemes, both in and out of town. The area also has a good sprinkling of market towns, such as Northallerton and, of course, spa town Harrogate still prospering thanks to affluent residents and a robust tourist industry.

New to Leeds

Leeds is already ranked the fourth biggest shopping destination in Britain in terms of spending behind London’s West End, Glasgow and Birmingham. Land Securities executive director Richard Akers says the objective of Trinity Leeds was not simply to add critical mass, but to deliver new retail. “We have over 46 retailers new to Leeds and in Apple, Hollister, Urban Outfitters and the like we have international brands further committing to growth outside London,” he says. “We wanted to bring something to Leeds.”

After a lengthy moratorium, retail in Yorkshire is starting to regenerate. Hammerson should start work on its Victoria Gate - formerly known as Eastgate Quarters - development in Leeds next year, while Westfield Bradford is finally moving forward.

Not everything is on a grand scale. Some niche investors have bet on potential growth outside the region’s dominant conurbations, including New River Retail, which bought schemes in Hull and Bridlington as part of an £85m, five-centre acquisition in December. More recently, LaSalle Investment Management paid £22m for the 1960s-built Airedale Shopping Centre in Keighley, near Bradford.

The recession has, inevitably, reshaped the schemes coming to market. Trinity Leeds was hit by a 15-month hiatus from early 2009, when the downturn temporarily put plans on hold. In its reconsidered form, the leisure element has risen from 10% to 22% of the total, including the first Everyman Cinema outside London and the Southeast and some upmarket restaurants and bars run by Jasper Conran’s brand, D&D London.

Leeds has plenty of retail pedigree, with the city’s Cross Arcade providing a home for Michael Marks’ famous penny bazaar when it relocated from a market stall. The bazaar’s descendent, Marks & Spencer, connects with Trinity Leeds.

Integration is a key mantra for Land Securities. Trinity Leeds has eight entrances and is surrounded by the city’s three busiest shopping streets, as well as being on the doorstep of the railway station. “Previously, Leeds really closed down at 6pm. Now the residents have somewhere that will extend the night-time economy, with a range of restaurants and the cinema,” says leasing director John Grimes.

Something for everyone

Akers talks about “balance” in reference to the centre’s food and beverage offer, as well as its relationship with the city. Cushman & Wakefield retail partner Toby Sykes says the retail mix has been designed to enhance the Leeds offer but also to sit alongside the retailers operating from the Victoria Quarter. “The concept has been based on the way the centre flows into the surrounding streets,” he says. “Trinity Leeds really complements what was here, has brought in new retail and has taken a top-five city and underpinned its strengths.”

Yet even as the paint dries on the newly finished mall, Trinity Leeds will not be the last enhancement to the city and region. The upscale Victoria Quarter, anchored by Harvey Nichols, was bought for £136m in September by Hammerson from Bank of Ireland Private Banking. Hammerson also expects to start work in 2014 on the £120m first phase of the Eastgate Quarter, a £590m development anchored by John Lewis.

Land Securities has further regional plans of its own and wants to expand the White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds, which opened in 1997. Some retailers, including New Look, Superdry, Primark and shoe retailer Office, are taking space both at White Rose and its larger sister in the town centre. Land Securities has also submitted a planning application for an additional 195,000 sq ft of space for a cinema, four new catering outlets and additional retail space, including extensions to the existing Debenhams and Primark stores. “We have been developing plans hand-in-hand with what’s been going on in Trinity Leeds,” says Grimes. “It obviously makes sense to consider the two projects together, especially as some retailers are in both.”

For Akers, the greater impact of Trinity Leeds remains firmly planted in the city. He points to the economic significance of Leeds in terms of its financial and legal sectors and large student population. “Inevitably Leeds is dominant in the region,” he reflects. “Trinity Leeds is about strengthening that dominance, bringing something new to the city and making what they have here a whole lot better.”