Ingka Centres, part of the Ingka Group which also includes IKEA Retail, has announced the freehold acquisition of Brighton’s main shopping centre, Churchill Square. Plans for the centre include the addition of a new IKEA City store.
Churchill Square retail tenants include Inditex, Apple, Next, H&M, Urban Outfitters and Levi’s alongside a food court with McDonald’s, Krispy Kreme and Ed’s Easy Diner. Ingka Centres has also acquired Chartwell Court, a residential tower block on the site, two attached car parks and a leasehold on a third car park.
The new IKEA City Store will open on the site of the former Debenhams and will mark the latest phase of IKEA’s transformation to become more accessible to customers. The new IKEA City Store will offer a wide array of the brand’s most loved products, with many available for immediate purchase or delivery via zero-emission vehicles.
Ingka Centres intends to develop Churchill Square’s strong retail fundamentals by adapting its retail offer to community needs and to invest in Churchill Place’s infrastructure to play a part in supporting Brighton and Hove City Council’s drive to establish a thriving local circular economy. Future investments will include improvements to energy efficiency to bring the asset up to BREEAM excellent standards while a wider roadmap of initiatives is planned to reflect Ingka Centres global sustainability commitment.
Ingka Centres’ managing director, Cindy Andersen, said: “We’ve proven in Hammersmith that traditional shopping centres have a strong future when they are adapted and constantly evolving to match the real needs of local communities. We’ll be working alongside our partners such as IKEA and the wider community to make everyday life better for the many people of Brighton, shaping and delivering an affordable, sustainable range of destination retail, restaurants, services and amenities.”
