A record letting for centre:mk

Joint owners of centre:mk Hermes Investment Management, the £30.8 billion manager, and AustralianSuper have announced that Primark will take over a 75,000ft² retail unit, occupying the extended and refurbished unit which formerly housed BHS on Silbury Arcade.

Ed Sellick, on behalf of centre:mk joint owners, Hermes Investment Management and AustralianSuper, commented:

“For centre:mk, this is the single biggest letting since introducing Marks & Spencer 25 years ago. Furthermore, the centre:mk store, which will be one of Primark’s largest in the UK, will attract significant numbers of new customers from across the region.

“Combined with the other investments, such as the new carpark, and the additional retailers that have opened in the last 18 months, the centre:mk has never been in a stronger position or more compelling to brands and consumers alike.”

A spokesperson at Primark, added:

“Working with the joint owners, we have achieved our longstanding objective of bringing Primark to the city centre in a store that will be emblematic of our brand. We are joining a fantastic line-up of brands at centre:mk that provide visitors with everything they need.”

The new store will showcase the entire Primark range and is due to open in 2018. To help make this happen, our engineers continue to deliver a variety of services behind the scenes in support of the refurbishment and reconfiguration of the existing major shopping unit (MSU). Predominantly, this project will operate within the constraints of the existing unit footprint, although an extension of the store’s first floor will create a new roof top floor level to increase gross floor space within the MSU.

To support enabling works for the project, our mechanical and electrical engineers have conducted survey works, delivered a schedule of building services strip out, provided utility services appraisals and are responsible for essential landlord services prior to Primark’s occupation (including lighting, emergency lighting, fire detection and alarm system coverage). What’s more, our team have prepared a full performance specification design for all required building services, as well as modelling and conducting building performance assessments to benchmark energy efficiency within the unit.

Our civil engineers are also working closely with the project team to assess drainage performance to ensure that designs are the best fit possible for the unit and its new tenant.

The signing of Primark is a key milestone in the “Re-imagining an icon” strategy, which is investing over £60million in the centre:mk over three years. Rolton Group have provided a range of multi-disciplinary engineering services in support of the programme, including for;

• the recently completed £10million refurbishment of Sunset Walk
• the award winning Deer Walk customer experience services unveiled in June
• the new 1,400-space multi-storey carpark

Wider knowledge of and past experience from working at centre:mk has been a real asset for the team, enabling our engineers to provide assessments and designs efficiently and with the impacts of other ongoing project adjacencies in mind.

With fashion and lifestyle giant Primark being listed as the top brand requested by centre visitors in exit surveys over the last five years, this is bound to be a fantastic addition to centre:mk. We can’t wait to see it open!