In 2023 Wirral Council acquired the Pyramids and Grange shopping centres in Birkenhead and is now reporting a rise in footfall and higher takings for traders. Tony McDonough reports
Footfall in the council-owned Pyramids and Grange shopping centres in Birkenhead is rising with traders seeing “more cash through the tills”.
In March 2023 the Mars Pension Fund put the Pyramids and Grange, totalling more than 585,000 sq ft up for sale. Two months later Wirral Council swooped to buy the centres as part of its wider regeneration plans for the two.
Neither side disclosed the value of the deal. Mars acquired the Pyramids for £70m in 2011. Rental income from both centres is believed to total more than £5m a year.
Now Wirral Council claims a programme of public engagement since the transaction was completed has seen a rise in footfall and sales at the centres where tenants include Next, Costa, River Island, Pandora, Caffe Nero and JD Sports.
Retail marketing agency Bewonder was hired by the council to boost the marketing efforts for the centres. It is now reported that in the second half of 2023, combined footfall increased 5.5% to more than 3.47m compared to the first half.
Marketing efforts include a quarterly events programme aimed at parents with young children, a more visible social media presence and a range of Christmas-specific initiatives, including enhanced festive lights and a charity gift appeal.
Les Lyon, centre manager of the Pyramids said: “We have been hearing a lot of positive comments about how good it is to see events taking place at the centre once again.
Both our retailers and customers alike are welcoming these new activities and the new monthly kids club, Pyramids Penguins, is proving to be very popular with the first event welcoming nearly 100 children, and the second event just under 200.
“Each Penguins Club will offer a free seasonal ‘make and take’ activity for children to enjoy, with the next event set to take place on Saturday 17th and Sunday, February 18. More details of this can be found on our website.
“We also know how key it is to keep our customers up to date with Centre events, our services and the latest offers from the retailers here and, as a result of the additional activity and events from October to December of last year, we have seen a huge increase in customer engagement on our social media platforms.
“We hope that more of our shoppers and visitors will like and follow these pages to keep up to date with news of our events , competitions and discounts.”
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Chair of Wirral Council’s Economy, Regeneration and Housing Committee, Cllr Tony Jones, also said: “We said from the outset that decline was not inevitable and that with imagination, investment and commitment we could tempt the public back.
“There’s so much to enjoy in central Birkenhead and this early data vindicates the council’s strategy and tells us we’re on the right path.”