Stockport’s Merseyway shopping centre is outperforming many of its rival shopping centres in the region, according to research produced by the centre’s managing agent, GVA.
The report found that Stockport, one of the UK selected towns to receive ‘Portas’ funding, has fewer empty units with only 10 or less than 10% of Merseyway’s 102 units standing empty.
GVA’s figures compared unoccupied premises in other Greater Manchester boroughs including Bolton’s Market Place – 21 out of 71 units or 30%; Oldham’s Town Square/ Spindles – 18 of 83 units or 22%; Rochdale’s Wheatsheaf Centre where six out of 27 stores or 22% remain closed and The Rock shopping centre in Bury, where seven out of 29 units or 24% were unoccupied.
In terms of prime retail rental values, Stockport as a whole has seen a 46% drop from £180 per sq ft to £100 per sq ft between 2008 and 2013.
Merseyway shopping centre in the ’90s
GVA says while Stockport has seen a drop in these rental values of around 46%, over the same 5 year period other towns in the area have suffered larger declines; Altrincham has seen values drop by 55% in the past five years; both Bolton and Oldham have both suffered falls of 54% per sq ft respectively and Southport and Chester endured declines of 50 and 51% respectively.
Jacqueline O’Shea, director of property agents GVA and managing
agent of Merseyway, said:
“Despite inaccurate media headlines painting Stockport as something akin
to a retail ghost town strewn with tumbleweed and awash with ‘to let’
boards on empty shops, these figures prove what is actually happening in
Merseyway and the town itself.
“The economic downturn has indeed blighted Britain’s high streets and left
the scar of many empty retail units but Merseyway continues to outperform
its rival regional shopping centres in the North West of England.
“The centre provides the right mix and range of brand retailers for its target
market of customers in Stockport and south Manchester and although we’re obviously not happy to see 10 empty shops and continue to strive for maximum occupancy, we are confident of that number being reduced with further lettings to local and national retailers in 2013.”