St Modwen invest £50 million in West Midlands first factory outlet

Detailed planning consent has been granted for a joint venture partnership formed by St Modwen Properties and local company W A Goold to create the West Midlands’ first factory outlet centre in Walsall.

The partnership is investing £50 million in converting Shannons Mill, a Victorian clothing mill in the middle of the town, into a 23,225 sq m (250,000 sq ft) centre. The first phase will create over 60 shops and will also have restaurant/catering facilities. There is car parking for over 1,500 cars and 16 coaches.

The scheme, adjacent to Park Street, is expected to start in June 2002 and open its doors to shoppers in Autumn 2003. It will create over 1,000 jobs and provide a huge economic boost to the Walsall area.

It is planned that the shops will include some international designer brands, and a range of well known high end high street names. With the pent-up demand in the West Midlands for a factory outlet, and the strong potential customer-base which exists within a one hour drive around the scheme, the developers are hoping to attract top brands and retailers to Shannons Mill. Several retailers have already shown a high level of interest.

Derek West of St Modwen said: “We are very excited about undertaking the first factory outlet centre in the West Midlands. The project fits in very well with our extensive range of development activities which include the development and refurbishment of major shopping centres, which we also manage, throughout the country.”

Dominic Goold of W A Goold which currently occupy the site, said: “The local support from the council and the community for Shannons Mill has been fantastic.”

The scheme is being let by Markham Vaughan Gillingham, who are the agents for The Mailbox and responsible for bringing Harvey Nichols to Birmingham,and Lambert Smith Hampton.

For further information contact Derek West of St Modwen on 0121-456-2800. Issued by Paul Raymer of Howle Chapman Raymer (0121-236-7771).