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Published
Mar 21, 2018
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New Westfield in Croydon estimated to generate £745m annual turnover

Published
Mar 21, 2018

Plans to build a £1.4bn Westfield shopping centre in Croydon could boost the town’s potential retail spend by a staggering 53%, according to new research conducted by specialist retail consultant Harper Dennis Hobbs.


The shopping centre will add 500,000 sq ft of new shops and restaurants to the local retail landscape - Photo: Westfield


The scheme was given the go-ahead by the Mayor of London in January, paving the way for the creation of more than 300 new shops, restaurants, cafés and leisure facilities. The project, developed by Hammerson and Westfield, will transform Croydon’s existing Whitgift and Centrale shopping centres into a 1.5m sq ft shopping destination.

This will have a major impact on the local retail landscape, according to Harper Dennis Hobbs, with both opportunities and challenges identified. On completion in 2022, the development could drastically boost the town’s retail spend potential to £2.7bn, and establish Croydon as a leading retail destination, said the report.

It is estimated that the new Westfield will generate 75% of total turnover in Croydon town centre, with annual turnover of £745 million. The findings also indicate that average gross sales densities across the town will increase by 15%.

But there will be losers as well as winners, and the development will have a detrimental effect on some parts of the town, said the retail agency. The report suggests that although overall gross sales density will increase in Croydon, some areas will have to adapt and improve their offer to respond to the challenges posed by the new scheme.

Jonathan De Mello, head of retail consultancy at HDH, commented: “Croydon would hugely benefit from the addition of the new scheme, stimulating the local economy and making Croydon south London’s regional shopping destination.”

He said the development will essentially replicate the transformation seen in Stratford and White City after the development of Westfield there.

Work on the new shopping centre in Croydon is expected to start in early 2019.

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