East Kilbride Shopping Centre in Administration – Scottish Business News

The owner of East Kilbride Shopping Centre, Scotland’s largest undercover shopping and leisure destination, has appointed administrators.

Luxembourg-based shell company Sapphire, which owns the centre, filed for administration on 16 November at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. Interpath Advisory has been appointed as administrators.

Centre to Remain Open

The shopping centre, which comprises over 150 shops, several restaurants, a cinema and an ice rink, will remain open and continue its day-to-day operations unaffected by the administration process.

Scoop has been appointed as asset manager, while Reith Lambert will continue to act as property manager of the centre.

The administrators aim to enhance the centre and consider an appropriate time to bring it to market over the coming months.

Blair Nimmo, chief executive of Interpath and joint administrator, said: “While the challenges facing the UK retail sector are well known, the East Kilbride Shopping Centre has remained a popular shopping and leisure destination, and continues to attract well-known names including the likes of Matalan; which opened its new store earlier this month”.

South Lanarkshire Council has approved a £62.2m, 10-year masterplan to transform the shopping and leisure destination. The plan includes:

• Demolition of the neighbouring Centre West Shopping Centre
• Creation of up to 400 new homes in the town centre
• Aim to drive annual footfall to approximately 15 million, returning to pre-pandemic levels

Sale of the Centre

Savills has been instructed to market the commercial property on behalf of Interpath Advisory. The retail space spans approximately one million square feet across distinct malls: Plaza, Olympia, Princes Mall and Princes Square.

Mark Garmon-Jones, director of retail investment at Savills, commented: “The redevelopment, guided by the masterplan endorsed earlier this year, is set to realign the town centre and its community, offering significant potential for short-term running yield improvement and long-term transformation of the asset as it is strategically repositioned”.

The administration and subsequent sale of East Kilbride Shopping Centre represent a significant development for one of Scotland’s major retail destinations, with potential implications for the local community and the wider retail sector