Having long been at the top of customer’s wish lists, Marks & Spencer is officially returning to Bristol city centre with a new flagship store at Cabot Circus.
The repositioning with a new M&S unlocks a significant investment to improve the customer experience and merchandising at Cabot Circus. Alongside their latest clothing and home offer, the new store will bring a market leading grocery offer and M&S café, which aligns to Hammerson’s strategy of diversifying the purpose of its destinations and appealing to a wider audience. This is the fourth letting Hammerson has achieved with M&S as part of their store rotation programme and demonstrates Hammerson working closely with key partners to achieve shared business objectives.
This is the latest in a string of deals that will enhance Cabot Circus by bringing high-profile brands and new uses including entertainment, dining, family and social concepts. Recent new openings include Stradivarius and sportswear brand, Lids, alongside German Doner Kebab, whilst a new golf experience at Treetop Golf is also set to open later this year.
Harry Badham, Chief Development and Asset Repositioning Officer at Hammerson, commented: “Our vision is to create a leading multi-purpose destination that thrives in the heart of Bristol. A new M&S is an important step forward in this strategy, as we strengthen the occupier mix and broaden the use and purpose of Cabot Circus.
The deal demonstrates the continued strong demand we are seeing from our partners for the right city centre location. M&S has consistently been a highly demanded store by our catchment, and we look forward to the new store opening.”
M&S Property Director Will Smith said: “Our store rotation strategy is all about providing customers with the right stores with the right space in the right locations and this spot in Bristol is exactly where we want to be. When it opens, the Cabot Circus store will be one of the largest and most modern M&S stores in the UK, offering the full range to customers and marking a welcome return for M&S to Bristol City Centre.”
The leasing strategy at Cabot Circus also incorporates successful art programming and cultural partnerships, building upon the key brand partnerships and leasing deals currently being delivered and in the pipeline. The destination has been announced as one of only nine nationwide Official Team GB and Paralympics GB Fanzones, with live broadcasts during the Paris Games and appearances by Team GB athletes. Upcoming activations also include art festival, Lumosphere, and the return of the award-winning pop-up skatepark.
