Rushmere - Neighbourhood Retailer

Poundland to open in Rushmere next month

Caroline Rainey — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 13:13:18 +0000

Poundland have revealed they will open a new store at Rushmere shopping centre in Craigavon in time for Christmas.

The new store, which will be located in the former Menary’s unit in the retail park, will create 32 new jobs.

With an opening date of Saturday 10^th December – a date the retailer is calling ‘Super Saturday’ – Poundland will open a total of eight new stores, relocations and extensions throughout the UK that day.

The new Rushmere store will cover 14,500 sq ft over two floors and comes as a further boost for the Craigavon shopping centre with Primark set to open its doors there on Friday 16^th December.

All Poundland stores offer a wide selection of everyday essentials across the grocery market, as well as health and beauty products, entertainment, stationery and craft ranges, encouraging customers to do more of their shopping in one visit.

The new Rushmere store will also include a wider range of chilled and frozen food along with the PEP&CO clothing range and homewares.

Earlier this year it was revealed that Rushmere had been sold for more than £56m to LCP, a property business which is new to the Northern Ireland market.

The property was marketed by commercial property agents Savills and CBRE NI in what they had anticipated would be the biggest investment of the year.

Rushmere Shopping Centre and Retail Park is home to some of the UK and Ireland’s most well-known retailers, and the news of Poundland’s arrival will continue to enhance its retailing appeal.

Poundland Chief Operating Officer, Austin Cooke, said: “This investment in towns and cities up and down the country shows our commitment to bringing shoppers more choice and amazing value, just when they need it most.”

Ben Wall, Poundland director of Property Portfolio, said: “It’s been a tremendous task to get these stores ready to open in time for Christmas and it’s a reflection of the dedication and hard work of all the teams involved at Poundland.

“We also owe a big thank you to the contractors who’ve worked tirelessly to help us get the stores ready and to the property agents who have been busy behind the scenes to keep the timetable on track,” he added.

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Rushmere retail park and shopping centre sold for £56m

Joe Kearney — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 10:28:26 +0000

One of the largest shopping centres and retail parks in Northern Ireland has been sold for more than £56m.

Rushmere Shopping Centre in Craigavon is now sale agreed after it was placed on the market earlier this summer with a price tag of £57m. It’s understood there was significant interest in the property.

The major site is being sold off to LCP — a property business which is new to the Northern Ireland market.

The sale of the commercial property asset is believed to be the biggest of its kind so far this year.

The property was marketed by commercial property agents Savills and CBRE NI in what they had anticipated would be the biggest investment of the year. Neither wished to comment on the deal.

Speaking about the shopping centre, Neil McShane of commercial property consultancy Inprio, said it’s arguably among the top five major retail spots in Northern Ireland.

“While the shopping centre sector has suffered in recent years, retail parks have continued to perform well and attract strong levels of investor interest,” he said.

The property, which comprises more than 30 acres across the retail park and 50 commercial units in the shopping centre, is the dominant retail scheme within the wider urban area of Craigavon.

Rushmere Shopping Centre and Retail Park is home to some of the UK and Ireland’s most well known retailers, and the recent anchor letting secured to Primark will enhance its retailing appeal.

Other retailers include Boots, Home Bargains, Superdrug and Dunnes Stores in the shopping centre, as well as Homebase, Matalan, Next and Currys/PC World in the retail park.

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Rushmere Shopping Centre and Retail Park up for sale for £57m

Linda Stewart — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 10:00:52 +0000

Rushmere Shopping Centre and Retail Park in Craigavon has been put on the market for £57m.

Commercial real estate agencies CBRE NI and Savills are acting as joint agents on the sale of the property.

The site offers a purpose-built, enclosed mall shopping centre with an adjacent open consented retail park and is priced at £57 million.

The property, which comprises more than 30 acres across the retail park and 50 commercial units in the shopping centre, is the dominant retail scheme within the wider urban area of Craigavon.

Rushmere Shopping Centre and Retail Park is home to some of the UK and Ireland’s most well known retailers, and the recent anchor letting secured to Primark will enhance its retailing appeal.

Other retailers include Boots, Home Bargains, Superdrug and Dunnes Stores in the shopping centre, as well as Homebase, Matalan, Next and Currys/PC World in the retail park.

Andrew Coggins, Senior Director at CBRE NI, said: “Rushmere Shopping Centre and Retail Park is a very exciting asset to bring to the market in Northern Ireland, and is currently the largest investment asset to come to the market in Northern Ireland to date this year.”

Ben Turtle, director at Savills, said: “The scheme is fully let to a number of well-known and prominent tenants, so we anticipate that there will be strong investor interest in this investment opportunity.”

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Sainsburys to close Craigavon store this weekend

Linda Stewart — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 10:36:23 +0000

Sainsbury’s is due to close its Craigavon store and filling station at Rushmere this weekend with the loss of an estimated 97 jobs.

In a statement Rushmere Shopping Centre said: “Please be advised that our Sainsbury’s store and petrol station will be closing this Saturday 26th February at 4pm.

“We would like to take this opportunity to wish all the team at Sainsbury’s the very best for the future.”

Sainsbury’s supermarket was one of the flagship stores in Rushmere, which has lost Debenhams and the Five Guys restaurant over the past year.

The store opened in 1998 and has been a popular choice for many shoppers over the decades.

While some staff in Sainsbury’s have been redeployed at other stores, others have managed to find new jobs.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “Our Craigavon store is closing soon. We understand this will be an unsettling time for those affected and we are doing everything we can to support our colleagues, including helping them to find alternative roles in nearby stores.

“Customers can continue to shop with us online and at our stores in the surrounding area, including our Sprucefield (Lisburn) supermarket, as well as our Dungannon and Armagh stores which also feature an Argos store for added convenience.

“We’re committed to serving our customers in Northern Ireland and continue to serve the local community through a number of stores and our popular groceries online service. Any decision to close a store is not taken lightly and is based on a range of factors. We wouldn’t break out figures but we understand this will be an unsettling time for those affected.”

Taryn Trainor of Unite the union said 97 employees were being made redundant.

“It is very disappointing that Sainsbury’s has stopped investing in the area,” said Taryn, adding that most of the staff had found alternative employment.

“It has caused a lot of upheaval and it has been very demoralising for the staff, some who have been working there for more than 20 years.

“My heart goes out to all those customers who were used to shopping at Sainsbury’s and had become familiar with the staff and store.”

Sainsbury’s has had stores in Northern Ireland since December 1996. It currently has 13 supermarkets and also owns the Argos chain.

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Spoon Street confirms fifth Northern Ireland store opening at Rushmere

Julie Nash — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:25:34 +0000

Big ripples ahead for Rushmere as home-grown dessert phenomenon Spoon Street adds fifth store and 10 new jobs in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland self-serve frozen yogurt sensation Spoon Street is on its way to Rushmere Shopping Centre as part of renewed growth plans to add new stores and jobs across the region.

Created by young entrepreneurs Harry and Katie Wang who opened their first store in east Belfast in 2014, Spoon Street has since brought its US-inspired yogurt concept and eco-friendly credentials to three other Belfast locations including Anne Street, Lisburn Road, Lisburn Leisureplex and Ballyhackamore.

The Spoon Street brand was acquired by the Newry-based owner of restaurant chain Eddie Rockets, Justin Ward, in 2019.

Rushmere Shopping Centre marks Spoon Street’s first location outside Belfast and its latest venture will create 10 new jobs when the store opens on Friday 9 August.

The Spoon Street concept has proved a big hit with customers who get to pour their own ‘froyo’ from a multi award-winning selection of 16 flavours and 45 toppings using biodegradable spoons, and all tastes are catered for with gluten-free, sugar-free, nut-free, vegan-friendly, vegetarian, low-fat and fat-free options all on offer.

Frozen yogurt and sorbets have grown dramatically in popularity as a healthier alternative to ice-cream in recent years.

Spoon Street director Justin Ward said Rushmere Shopping Centre was only the next stop in a new plan for growth.

Strategic

“Strategically-located in one of the region’s largest and most successful shopping centres, we’re delighted to confirm our new store will open for eat in, takeaway or for home delivery from August 2 and a new team of 10 staff will be on hand to bring this brilliant foodie concept to thousands more customers outside the Belfast area.”

Rushmere Shopping Centre is one of Northern Ireland’s largest retail destinations, located between Portadown and Lurgan just 30 miles to the west of Belfast.

Growth plans

“With four longstanding, successful outlets behind us, we’re already looking forward to growing our footprint further across the island as we look to restart growth plans paused as a result of the pandemic. Rushmere is a major milestone in this strategy and we can’t wait to reveal more details of new locations in the months ahead,” Justin Ward said.

Centre manager Martin Walsh said: “Since fully reopening in May with record-breaking visit numbers, Rushmere has been keen to add to its strong mix of retail stores and big brand names with a fresh focus on hospitality and I’m thrilled that the hugely-popular Spoon Street has chosen us as part of its new expansion plans.”

Rushmere record

Rushmere Shopping Centre is jointly managed by leading lettings specialists Osborne King and Savills.

Earlier this year, Rushmere Shopping Centre reported record daily visitor numbers for a May Bank Holiday weekend, when more than 136,000 customers made the trip.

Out-of-town retail centres and parks have performed relatively strongly compared with high streets and city centres in the last year and are recovering faster than any other type of shopping destination, according to a recent Springboard analysis.

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