BWD agree terms on Mike Ashley’s new multi-brand House of Fraser concept at the Mander Centre, Wolverhampton

BWD acted on behalf of landlord Benson Elliot in negotiating terms on the new Frasers multi-brand store concept in a 94,000 sq ft flagship store in the Mander Centre, Wolverhampton.

The multi-level store will become home to the Frasers, FLANNELS, Sports Direct & USC brands, when Debenhams depart in early 2020, delivering a huge boost to the customer experience at the heart of the city centre.

Jonathan Ratnage, retail sector specialist at Benson Elliot, said: “We are delighted to welcome Frasers to the Mander Centre. This is terrific news for our loyal shoppers who will see a significant upgrade in our premium brand line up.

“This long-term commitment signifies the confidence major brands have in both Wolverhampton and the Mander Centre as the city’s pre-eminent customer destination.

“The Mander team work hard to give all our customers good reasons to shop locally in the city where they live and work. The new Frasers offering will serve to broaden the city centre’s appeal across a wider catchment area, supporting and sustaining jobs and investment into the future.”

Michael Murray, Head of Elevation at Sports Direct International said: “We are really proud to have secured this retail destination in the heart of Wolverhampton and look forward to bringing our new elevated multi-brand concept to the Mander Centre in 2020.”

Councillor Ian Brookfield, leader of City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “This is fantastic news for Wolverhampton.

“It shows how our city is agile in responding to the difficult challenges that city centres up and down the country are facing.

“This exciting deal builds on Benson Elliot’s success in bucking the national trend and attracting new stores to take up 210,000 sq ft of retail floor space in 2019.

“It also helps us significantly improve the wider offer as we continue to develop ways to reimagine and reinvent our city centre as part of £1 billion of investment on site or in the pipeline.

“Equally important is the jobs it brings to the city which, with our partners, we have the experience and expertise to help recruit local people into.”

 Jonathan Ratnage added: “This new letting is great news for all sides and is the culmination of the hard work our team puts into making sure our destinations have the most relevant line up of retail brands.

“The high street is definitely going through a transition, but Wolverhampton is emerging stronger, with the Mander Centre playing a pivotal role at the heart of the £1 billion transformation of the city centre.

“We continue to evolve our offer to meet changing customer preferences, whilst reinforcing the Mander Centre’s role as a venue where retail and service businesses alike can prosper. Sitting alongside major national brands are our local and independent traders and we plan to increase these over the coming months.”

The strength of the Mander Centre as the city’s prime shopping mall can be seen in the new store openings this year and, in total, around 210,000 sq ft of retail space will have been let in 2019 by the Centre owner Benson Elliot.