Scotland’s largest indoor shopping centre hits market after years of decline

SCOTLAND’S largest indoor shopping centre has been put up for sale.

East Kilbride Shopping Centre has hit the market after years of continual store closures amid a downturn in the retail sector.

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The vast shopping hub covers 1.2 million square feet and is home to around 120 brands across several malls.

Popular retailers within the sprawling space include Boots, Carlton Bingo, Deichmann, H&M, HMV, JD Sports, Primark, and an Odeon Luxe cinema.

There is also an ice rink and more than 3,000 parking spaces across multi-storey car parks.

On its website, it is described as having “the most exciting retail, leisure, and dining brands within its mile of malls”.

The massive shopping centre, which went into administration in 2022, is now being advertised by Savills.

The move comes as administrators from Interpath Advisory “stabilised” the shopping centre before putting it on the market, as reported by The Herald.

Savills said: “The council has approved a £62.2 million, 10-year masterplan that will radically transform the shopping and leisure destination into a vibrant, high-quality urban environment. A significant portion of the budget, £30 million, will be invested in transportation infrastructure improvements.

“As part of the redevelopment, the neighbouring Centre West Shopping Centre will be converted into a housing development, creating up to 400 new homes in the heart of the town. This transformation is expected to drive an annual footfall of approximately 15 million, returning to pre-pandemic levels. Progress has also been made on key leases, including agreements with a national supermarket chain and a budget hotel.”

Alistair McAlinden, head of Interpath Advisory in Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be able to bring this significant development to market. Over the past 22 months, substantial work has been undertaken by multiple stakeholders including South Lanarkshire Council to ensure that this development, as part of the 10-year masterplan, will generate transformative value for the town of East Kilbride and the local community.”

Mark Hewett, partner at Scoop AM LLP, said: “This represents a rare opportunity to acquire a major regional scheme and site, with the ability to collaborate with the local authority on a transformative scheme and town that holds immense potential to generate substantial value for the local community.”

We previously told how East Kilbride Shopping Centre had been branded “tragic” by locals.

Once a hotspot for shoppers, dozens of units lie empty.

In March last year, that amounted to a third of the outlets that were still operating.