UK shopping centres increasingly look like venues to own, operate in and visit, given their growth and popularity in the years since the pandemic. News of their success continues to arrive with major property giant Landsec reporting “a strong golden quarter” across its portfolio of prime retail assets, which include Bluewater in Kent, Trinity Leeds and now Liverpool One.

It said over £800 million was spent across its destinations during the important quarter, ahead of expectations, “as consumers prioritise their spend in the best locations”.

Footfall and sales across the portfolio continue to grow, with its major retail destinations outperforming external benchmarks for the first three quarters of the financial year, it noted.

Overall, spending increased 3.8% year-on-year, ahead of British Retail Consortium (BRC) benchmarks that showed overall sales growth for the same period at 0.4%.

Landsec singled out the Trinity Leeds performance, which saw a 13.1% increase in sales for the period following new openings, including Zara and Nike, earlier in the year.

Footfall for the quarter also grew 1.9% year-on-year, compared to BRC data, which showed a 2.5% decline in on-year footfall. 

An extra one million people visited a Landsec retail destination during the month of December alone, “as consumers sought out destinations with the right mix of retail, food and beverage, and leisure brands”, it added.

The news follows Landsec’s recent half-year results which reported that occupancy at its major retail destinations had exceeded pre-pandemic levels as brands invest in fewer, bigger, better stores in the best locations. 

Bluewater, of which Landsec upped its ownership to 66% last summer, opened 10 new stores during the golden quarter, including Sephora, Bershka and Aesop.

Bruce Findlay, managing director for Retail at Landsec, said: “Following our recent acquisition of Liverpool One, we now own seven out of the top 30 performing retail destinations in the UK. These best-in-class destinations continue to outperform external benchmarks as both brands and consumers flock to prime locations.”

He added: “Attracted by new brands, the best format stores and all-day-out experiences, shoppers are choosing to spend time in prime retail spaces. With growing footfall and sales, brands are in turn investing in the very best locations.”