McArthurGlen plans seventh Designer Outlet in the UK

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Dec 6, 2017

One of Europe’s largest owners of designer outlets has unveiled plans to create a £160m off-price shopping village in Cannock, just 30 minutes from Birmingham.

McArthurGlen Group has entered into a joint venture with U+I and Rioja Developments Limited, which secured planning approval for a Designer Outlet from Cannock Chase District Council in September 2016, to bring its vision to life.

Aviva Investors on behalf of Aviva Life and Pensions and The Richardson Family are also part of the joint venture, it emerged on Wednesday.

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Together, the companies will invest more than £160 million in the project with the development spanning 26,500 sq m of GLA across two phases and including improvements to the road infrastructure.

The new Designer Outlet in Cannock will be McArthurGlen’s seventh in the UK and twenty sixth worldwide. Situated in one of the most densely populated and affluent catchments in the UK, the centre will benefit from its close proximity to popular attractions such as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which attracts two million visitors a year, and the UK’s largest theme park Alton Towers.

It will be also connected to Birmingham with a 40-minute direct train journey as it hopes to attract the 39 million tourists who visit the city each year.

Matthew Weiner CEO at U+I Group Plc, said: “We are delighted to be working as development partner with McArthurGlen. The site’s location and potential are enormous and now that we have secured the planning consents, we are focussed on working with our partners to transform this site into a thriving community hub. The high quality shops, restaurants and other amenities will attract visitors from near and far, stimulate the local economy and create over 1000 jobs. Importantly, this project will protect and enhance the natural environment which surrounds it.”

Construction of Phase 1 will begin in the early part of 2018, with over 80 stores, restaurants and cafés, a children’s play area and 1,400 parking spaces planned. The first phase of Cannock Designer Outlet is expected to open in spring 2020.