Retail and leisure complex Liverpool ONE, which changed hand for £490m in December, reports rises in both footfall and sales during the festive trading period. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool ONE says Christmas 2024 was its most successful festive season since 2019 with big rises in both footfall and sales.
During what it described as ‘Black Friday week’ at the end of November, the retail and leisure complex saw a 14% growth in footfall and a 28% increase in sales.
This positive performance was sustained throughout December, with footfall up 10% in comparison to a 2.2% decline for the UK according to data from the British Retail Consortium, and an uplift of 7% in overall sales.
During the period between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, Liverpool ONE reported a 26% year-on-year increase in footfall.
Rob Deacon, asset management director at Liverpool ONE, said: “Achieving our best Christmas in six years is a fantastic end to another successful year for Liverpool ONE.
“Driving our out-performance has been our commitment to providing best-in-class brands and experiences for our visitors, and that will continue in 2025 as we prepare to launch more new stores than at any point since Liverpool ONE opened in 2008.”
In mid-December LBN revealed that property giant Landsec has completed its £490m purchase of a majority stake in Liverpool ONE.
Landsec, which which formerly owned St John’s shopping centre in Liverpool, acquired Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s 69% stake and Grosvenor 23% share of the 1.6m sq ft estate.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will receive £455m, representing a net initial yield of 7.5%. Net initial yield is the annual rental income at the time of the sale expressed as a percentage of the capital value. The remaining £35m is deferred for two years.
During 2024 Liverpool ONE welcomed 22 brands totaling 200,000 sq ft, including Zara’s new regional flagship, which is 55% larger than its original Liverpool ONE store.
It also saw the arrival of Montirex’s first bricks and mortar store, and Flight Club. In addition, TFG London, Sephora and Uniqlo all signed and will open their stores in 2025.