Intu shopping centres contributed over £4.9 billion to UK economy in 2016

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 10, 2017

Research into the economic impact of shopping centres has revealed that destinations owned by leading operator Intu contributed £4.9 billion to their local economies in 2016.

Intu owns some of the UK’s largest and most popular shopping centres, including Intu Trafford Centre, Intu Lakeside and Intu Watford.

The headline figure grew by £700 million from £4.2 billion in 2015, as a result of increased employment, regional investment and business rates paid. The number of jobs the shopping centres supported across the UK increased by 14% to more than 137,000 in 2016, with a total wage bill of £1.9 billion.

David Fischel, intu chief executive, said: “This research demonstrates that prime regional shopping centres are significantly boosting the UK’s economy, both on a local and national level. Creating retail and leisure destinations that customers want to visit helps businesses flourish across the country, drives up investment in towns and cities and establishes real local prosperity. The jobs they create cater for a wide range of skills and abilities and deliver more entry-level and flexible routes into employment.”

The top five Intu centres by contribution are Intu Trafford Centre with £488,9 million, Intu Watford (£417.4 million), Intu Merry Hill (£399.3 million), Intu Braehead (£334.9 million) and Intu Lakeside (£322.8 million).

Intu is also planning to extend Intu Lakeside by 175,000 sq ft and create new retail and leisure facilities in Watford, Milton Keynes and Nottingham. This will generate an additional 31,000 jobs and a further £1.95 billion for the economy over the next 10 years.