Comment: Trinity Leeds opening is a welcome boost for retail

The opening of Trinity Leeds today is welcome news for the UK retail property market. Despite the backdrop of economic gloom, retailer demand for space in the new 1 million sq ft shopping centre has been impressive.

In particular, there was strong demand from international brands such as Apple, Victoria’s Secret and Hollister which are among the retailers who have now let more than 90% of available space at Trinity Leeds with a further 5% in solicitors’ hands.

The right space in the right place is always at the core of all retail property decisions but this is at a premium; the demand we have seen at Trinity Leeds from quality retailers simply confirms the appetite for prime retail space which can offer the right tenant mix.

Land Securities, Trinity Leeds’ developer, has invested £350m in the complex with a strong belief that confidence will return to the UK retail market in the near future – and what has been delivered is a world-class mall worthy of the hype around it. 

Consumers today crave a multi-sensory experience while shopping and Trinity Leeds’ development was very much created with this in mind. Nearly a quarter (22%) of the complex is devoted to leisure and includes a ‘street food’ zone and cinema. 

Additionally, as shoppers walk past the 120 shops and restaurants, they will see five interactive digital walls that respond to gestures from passers-by – there is even a smartphone app to guide them around the centre. As Trinity Leeds opens its doors to the public for the first time this morning, it will be the first major shopping centre to do so in the UK since Westfield Stratford City in September 2011. To put this development drought into context, last year the UK recorded the lowest level of shopping centre floor space completion since 1962. 

Less than 37,000 sq m of new shopping centre space was added to the market in 2012 with only one new centre: the Tesco-anchored Swan Centre in Yardley (15,607 sq m) which opened in February. Incredibly, it is 54 years since only one new scheme opened in the UK in a single 12-month period.

Today’s opening is significant step on the road to recovery for shopping centre development in the UK and Trinity Leeds is certainly a very welcome addition to the UK retail landscape.

Toby Sykes is head of shopping centre leasing at Cushman & Wakefield, the letting agents on Trinity Leeds