WESTFIELD is branching out and will be putting down roots outside of London for the first time.
The brand currently has huge shopping centres in White City and Stratford, but now shoppers in Scotland will be treated to their own Westfield shopping mall.
French retail giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has acquired the £1 billion St James’ Quarter in Edinburgh.
Known to some locals as ‘golden jobby’, the shopping centre will be rebranded as a Westfield destination in 2026.
St James’ Quarter originally opened in 2021 and spans across 80,000 square metres.
Sitting among the top 20 highest-footfall retail spots in Europe, it houses 80 shops, an Everyman Cinema, and a variety of restaurants.
It also contains 152 luxury apartments.
Despite its success, URW says it plans to “elevate St James’ Quarter’s performance by leveraging our retail operations and media expertise, as well as bringing the globally recognised Westfield brand to the destination.”
URW will run its new Scottish hub alongside APG.
URW’s CEO Jean-Marie Tritant said: “St James Quarter is a high-quality, fully redeveloped asset that perfectly aligns with our strategy to operate and grow dominant flagship destinations in key urban markets.”
And Robert-Jan Foortse, Head of Real Estate Europe at APG, said: “Since its opening in 2021, St James Quarter has consistently strengthened its operational performance, establishing itself among the UK’s leading shopping destinations.
“The acquisition marks an exciting new chapter for the centre which will benefit from URW’s operational expertise and innovative services, as well as for our collaboration, building on the success of our partnership at Westfield Stratford City.”
Edinburgh shoppers have been reassured that there won’t be too many changes to the quarter as part of the acquisition and that they will still be able to enjoy the stores they know and love.
Of course, there will be new branding and a new name – which is yet to be revealed.
Thanks to the incredible success of the London-based Westfield centres, there are high hopes for Edinburgh’s installment.
Westfield White City is the largest shopping centre in Europe and spans across nine different postcodes in West London.
It boasts 322 different stores under its roof as well as entertainment options, including bowling, bouldering, soft play, mini golf, pottery, and a cinema.
This comes after it was announced that a much-loved 1970s shopping centre is set to be torn down as part of a massive redevelopment plan.
Marks & Spencer, Boots and Argos are among the stores set to close down.
Lewisham Shopping Centre will be demolished to make way for a huge new mixed-use development featuring thousands of homes, student accommodation and cultural venues.
Lewisham Council last night approved FTSE 100 developer Landsec’s proposal to completely overhaul the ageing complex, in what’s being described as a “once-in-a-generation” transformation of the town centre.
Under the plans, the site will be turned into 1,700 new homes, 660 student beds and 445 co-living apartments.
A 500-capacity culture, music and arts venue will also be built to “reignite” Lewisham’s night-time economy.
Developers have promised a “reimagined” retail area with the same amount of shopping space, along with three new public squares, a large green space and more than 300 new trees.
