Merry Hill shopping centre to undergo 50 million pound revamp

British shopping centre operator Ellandi has announced it is investing more than 50 million pounds to revamp Merry Hill shopping centre near Birmingham.

The investment aims to transform the centre into “a best-in-class regional retail destination” and “the most vibrant family lifestyle destination in the West Midlands” by July 2025.

Plans include the development of a new family entertainment ‘Leisure District’, and works to ‘future-proof’ the shopping centre and enhance its sustainability credentials, for example through the instalment of solar panels and more than 200 electric vehicle charging points. The shopping centre aims to be carbon neutral by 2030.

So far, a further 22 units with new retailers are in negotiation or under offer, totalling over 230,000 square feet.

The five-year transformation will begin with a first stage relaunch in September 2021. It marks the first former Intu asset to undergo a major transformation following the company’s collapse last year.

Merry Hill to undergo five-year upgrade

Despite the pandemic, Merry Hill has seen footfall outperforming city-centre locations and other super-regional shopping centres, said Ellandi co-founder Mark Robinson.

“This investment will not only enhance and complement Merry Hill’s existing retail offering, but also the range of leisure-led, non-retail and food and beverage attractions - delivering a high-quality environment in which shoppers can also spend their days socialising, relaxing and having fun,” Robinson said in a release.

Around 126,000 square feet of new, renewed or pending deals either have or are about to be completed, including with brands Superdry and Foot Asylum.

Located in Brierley Hill, just 10 miles west of Birmingham city centre, Merry Hill is the eighth largest shopping centre in the UK and is home to more than 250 retailers anchored by Marks & Spencer, Primark, Asda, Flannels, Next and H&M.

The company also announced the appointment of Jonathan Poole as Merry Hill’s new centre manager. Poole was the former centre manager at The Liberty centre in Romford, before joining Merry Hill in the spring.

“I am delighted to have joined Merry Hill at such an exciting and transformative point in its history, with today’s announcement putting it on track to become the unrivalled shopping and family leisure destination for the West Midlands,” Poole commented.