Festival Place secures another first for Basingstoke

Outdoor clothing and equipment specialists Mountain Warehouse has become the latest retailer to join Festival Place after signing a lease for a 2,391 square foot store at the Basingstoke shopping centre.

The signing boosts the largest shopping and leisure destination in North Hampshire’s sport and leisure offering, with Mountain Warehouse joining Blacks, Trespass, Sports Direct and JD Sports.

Malcolm McNeill, head of retail UK at Mountain Warehouse, said in a statement: “In-line with our portfolio expansion strategy, Festival Place provided us with the ideal location to open our first store in Basingstoke. The centre gives us a prominent location in the town centre with a really strong catchment profile. This was an opportunity too good to miss. We look forward to bringing our products to families from across North Hampshire.”

Mountain Warehouse has become one of almost 30 new brands to open at Festival Place since the acquisition of the centre by real estate asset manager AEW. During the three years under AEW’s direction, footfall has also increased by over two million, taking the annual total to 22.4 million customers.

In addition, lifestyle clothing and accessories brand Fat Face has signed to expand its on-going presence at the centre by 24 percent, moving to a 4,100 square foot unit.

Russell Jewell, head of private equity funds at AEW, added: “These new signings, alongside the Jack Wills and Côte Brasserie deals earlier this summer are a testament of the high-quality, aspirational brands that Festival Place continues to attract.

“It’s encouraging to see that the centre is bringing new retailers to the town, and seeing existing retailers further upsizing and extending their leases, demonstrating further confidence in the scheme. As we approach the completion of the repositioning of the centre, it is promising to see such a positive trajectory for the centre.”

Festival Place is anchored by Marks and Spencer, Debenhams and Next, and has more than 200 retail, dining and leisure brands including Zara, River Island, Gap, Jack Wills and SuperDry.

Images: courtesy of Festival Place/AEW