Eastbourne’s Arndale Centre to rebrand as part of transformation

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Sep 11, 2017

Eastbourne’s Arndale Centre is to get a new name and a new look when it opens its £85m extension for the first time in November next year.

The shopping centre, home to 70 shops including River Island, Marks & Spencer, Primark and Topshop, will be rebranded as The Beacon, it announced this week.

The name was agreed following discussions, consultations and focus group meetings. It reflects the growing stature of the town in acting as a beacon for new investments and new developments. 

It will also mark a new era for the shopping centre as it opens its £85m extension. The project will add 175,000 sq ft retail and leisure space to the shopping destination, creating 22 new retail units, seven restaurants and a 9-screen multiplex cinema. H&M has already confirmed as an anchor tenant.

The transformation plan is being led by Performance Retail Limited Partnership.

Andrew Rice, Fund Manager for centre owners Legal & General, said: “It’s never easy to find a new name for a shopping centre with a 37-year history in the town.

“But after discussions and explorations, including meetings with key opinion formers in Eastbourne, we agreed unanimously that The Beacon was a great new name.”

A major sub-regional shopping location, the Arndale Centre is situated conveniently in the heart of the town with over 17 million visitors per year. Other brands with a presence at Arndale Centre include Lush, New Look, JD Sports and Bonmarché.