The new retailer, costume and fashion jeweller, Aura Fashion, and the café bistro, TDF, a new venture, have been secured for Marble Place Shopping Centre by property consultants King Sturge, acting for the landlord Wigmore Retail Ltd, London.

Aura Fashion, which has taken the 1,800 ft² Unit 16 at a rent of £25,000, replaces a former, similar retail business, Diamonds and Pearls, which went into administration earlier this year. The café bistro, a locally-owned start-up enterprise, has taken 850 ft² at a £28,000 annual rent.

Two other retailers, hairdresser Hair Express and soft furnishings outlet, Textiles Direct, have extended their leases at Unit 12 and Unit 2 respectively. Hair Express has renewed its lease on its 1,300 ft² unit on an annual rent of £28,000 as part of a national re-structure which has seen it close some of its salons nationally. Textiles Direct has renewed the lease on its 3,000 ft² unit at a rent of 18,900 a year.

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The new retailers and renewed lettings at the 75,000 ft² shopping centre, which opened in 1992 and has 24 units, ranging from 300 ft² to 20,000 ft², has helped to increase the average footfall through the centre over the previous months, heralding signs of a retail recovery.

Existing tenants include TK Maxx, Specsavers, 3G, Bodyshop and Bay Trading and King Sturge is currently in talks with a national occupier to take the former New Look unit following its relocation to the old Woolworths on Chapel Street, which will further strengthen the centre.

Head of the In-Town Retail Team at the Leeds office of King Sturge, which covers the North West, Jonathan Newns, a partner, said: “The two new lettings to Aura fashion and the café bistro will add to the strength and diversity of Marble Place Shopping Centre, the main covered retail outlet in the town.

“The fact that, following the worst downturn for retailing for many years, new retailers are opening at Marble Place Shopping Centre and others, such as Hair Express and Textiles Direct, are keeping it within their national portfolios, is testament to the fact that it is a good-quality, well-managed centre offering what the local community and visitors to Southport require.

“Many people believe that environmental concerns over flying and the long haul of economic recovery, will lead more people to holiday in the UK which will be good news for seaside towns such as Southport and will no doubt benefit shopping facilities such as Marble Place.”

The Leeds office of King Sturge is one of the region’s largest independent firms of chartered surveyors and property consultants with 70 staff providing property agency and investment services throughout Yorkshire and Humber and North Derbyshire.

(GK)