Work has begun on-site at the Grantham Designer Outlet Village in the East Midlands, and is due for completion in 2023.
The new destination hopes to represent a blueprint for a modern designer outlet village in a digital age, designed to provide ‘a comprehensive customer experience’, drawing on the development team’s creativity and successes in delivering such destinations.
The scheme, which is being developed by Grantham-based property investor Buckminster, and designer outlet retail specialists Rioja Estates, will provide a major boost to the area’s long-term economic future
At the ground-breaking ceremony on 17 March to mark the start on site, Giles Membrey, managing director of Rioja Estates, said: “Machines on the ground today will create opportunities for local residents, businesses, and national and international brands tomorrow. Our scheme will offer a memorable day out for those who live nearby and those from farther afield, while retailers and restaurants that open here will benefit from a catchment that includes the residents, students, workers and tourists of towns and cities such as Cambridge, Nottingham, Leicester, and Lincoln. We are supporting local jobs both during and beyond construction, and are championing Grantham which will benefit from additional footfall from visitors to the outlet village.”
Sir Richard Tollemache, Chairman at Buckminster, said: “The Grantham Designer Outlet Village offers us not only the opportunity to create one of the UK’s most successful outlet retail destinations, but to build a better future for our community in Grantham. As a family-run, Grantham-based business we are incredibly passionate about this project because we believe in the benefits it will bring to the area: new jobs, new investment and new visitors to the town centre. The Grantham Designer Outlet Village will be absolutely driven by its contribution to our local economy and society from day one.”
Featuring up to 90 stores, restaurants and coffee shops in Phase One, with up to 50 more proposed for Phase Two, the Grantham Designer Outlet Village is projected to achieve turnover of £400 per sq ft initially, rising to £500 per sq ft in Phase Two. Rioja Estates are in advanced talks with household brands from across Europe that are expected to delight shoppers when the first names are announced later this year.
The architect is Holder Mathias Architects, one of the most successful outlet village designers in UK and Europe.
