‘We need Cabot Circus to thrive’ – why shopping center bosses ditched House of Fraser for M&S

Bosses at Cabot Circus have explained more about their decision to ditch House of Fraser and get a new giant Marks & Spencer store – saying their “vision” is to create a shopping center destination that “reaches into the heart of the City of Bristol”.

More information has emerged since Bristol Live broke the news that the chief executive of M&S has announced a £21m investment to create a new flagship store at Cabot Circus.

Mall bosses have revealed the new M&S will include a large cafe, a food supermarket as well as a “clothing and home offer”.

Read more: Marks & Spencer to open huge store in Cabot Circus in Bristol city center swap

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The news came as a surprise to House of Fraser staff, who currently occupy the Cabot Circus flagship store across three floors of the city center shopping centre. Some staff said they knew nothing about the news their store was to close until they read it on Bristol Live at lunchtime on Tuesday.

What will happen to the House of Fraser store remains uncertain – Bristol LIve has asked House of Fraser if it will move to a new location or close completely and is awaiting a response.

Bosses at Cabot Circus said bringing in M&S would “reposition” the shopping center and “unlock significant investment to improve the customer experience”.

The move from House of Fraser and its replacement by M&S is “the latest in a series of deals that will enhance Cabot Circus by bringing high-profile brands and new uses” to the shopping centre, a spokesman said.

“Our vision is to create a leading mixed-use destination that thrives in the heart of Bristol,” said Harry Badham, director of development and asset repositioning at Hammerson, the firm that owns Cabot Circus.

“A new M&S is an important step forward in this strategy as we strengthen the occupier mix and expand the use and purpose of Cabot Circus,” he added.

“The deal demonstrates the continued and strong demand we are seeing from our partners for the right city center location. M&S has consistently been a store in high demand by our stock and we look forward to the new store opening,” he said.

Bristol Live understands the M&S takeover is part of a wider strategy by Cabot Circus bosses to be ‘on the front foot’ and bring in new and more varied shops, restaurants and venues as Bristol city center faces generally with increasingly uncertain times.

After the Showcase cinema closed in Cabot Circus, M&S and Debenhams left Broadmead, The Galleries shopping center will close if planning permission is granted for a major redevelopment and thousands of new homes are planned in a series of tower blocks in the heart. from the city, bosses at Cabot Circus are keen to radically change the shopping centre’s offering to keep it thriving into the mid to late 2020s.

“The repositioning with a new M&S unlocks significant investment to improve the customer experience and merchandising at Cabot Circus,” a Hammerson spokesman said.

“In addition to the latest clothing and home offering, the new store will bring a market-leading grocery offer and M&S café, which aligns with Hammerson’s strategy to diversify the scope of its destinations and appeal to a wider audience. This is the fourth permission Hammerson has secured with M&S as part of their store rotation program and demonstrates that Hammerson works closely with key partners to achieve shared business objectives.

“This is the latest in a string of deals that will enhance Cabot Circus, bringing high-profile brands and new uses, including entertainment, dining, family and social concepts. Recent new openings include Stradivarius and sportswear brand Lids alongside German Doner Kebab, while a new golf experience at Treetop Golf is set to open later this year,” he added.

The new M&S will be one of the largest in the country. “Our store rotation strategy is about giving customers the right stores with the right space in the right locations and this site in Bristol is exactly where we want to be,” said M&S property director Will Smith.

“When it opens, the Cabot Circus store will be one of the largest and most modern M&S stores in the UK, offering a full range to customers and marking a welcome return for M&S to Bristol city centre,” he added.