Plea for more support for shops as Preston's St George's goes into administration

The desperately tough times high street retailers are going through under the coronavirus pandemic have been thrown into sharp relief by the news.

Despite recent headline closures such as of Debenhams and Top Shop owner Arcadia and the administration of Intu which had the Trafford Centre, the news about St George’s has still come as a shock and is fuelling debate about the future of the city’s retail offer.

The news has sparked calls for Preston consumers to support their local shopping areas in a bid to ensure that the centre can find new owners and that high streets remain vibrant in the city.

The owner of the 280,000 sq ft shopping centre, private equity firm IRAF UK Dragon Limited Partnership (InfraRed) hit financial trouble, and professional services firm EY (Ernst and Young) have been called in to handle the administration.

Alexander Williams and Andrew Dolliver, partners from EY, were appointed on February 1 and have said that the centre will continue to operate as normal for the immediate future.

It will continue to be operated by management firm Sovereign Centros in the role of asset manager during the administration process.

But a cloud hangs over its long-term future as another owner will have to come forward.

EY partner Alex Williams said: “The administration of the partnership and the companies will have no operational impact on St George’s Shopping Centre which continues to trade in compliance with Government Covid regulations on a business as usual basis.”

St George’s has held the prime retail location in Preston since 1966 and is one of three shopping centres in the city. Among its big name tenants are Marks and Spencers, H&M, Matalan, The Body Shop, HMV and Costa.

It has undergone a series of rebuilds and revamps over the years and was latterly bought by InfraRed in 2015 from Aviva for £73m. The owners had in 2019 unveiled plans for another revamp and the creation of a restaurant quarter area off Friargate.

Noted North West Restaurant Mowgli was among a group lined up to take a place there, but the move was shelved last year with the pandemic being one of the reasons cited.

At the time of the acquisition, InfraRed described St George’s as “the dominant centre in the city of Preston”.

Coun Matthew Brown, leader of Preston City Council, said of the administration announcement: “This is disappointing news which we will continue to monitor with the hope that a beneficial solution can be found that ensures St George’s continues to play an important role in Preston’s future and that jobs are protected.

“We are pleased that St George’s will continue to operate as normal throughout the process and as our high street begins to safely reopen it is important we all support city centre businesses to help them recover from the pandemic.

“Inevitably the pandemic has caused great disruption to the retail sector and this is difficult news on the back of recent announcements about Debenhams and other big names leaving the high street. It is vital that we take a fresh look at how high streets are utilised with a greater focus on community and social uses for units to ensure shopping centres and a busy high street continue to be part of our cities for years to come.”

A spokesman for the Preston Business Improvement District organisation said: “St George’s is an important part of Preston’s retail offering.

“This news is deeply concerning and follows a pattern seen at other shopping centres. While some of the government’s recent support measures have helped some businesses keep going through the pandemic, it is increasingly clear that shopping centres need more help.

“If the promised bounce back is going to happen then we need shops and shopping centres to remain open.

“It is positive that St George’s will continue trading will in administration and is likely to fully open once current restrictions are lifted. If customers use St George’s once they are able, a way out of administration may be found or the centre will be a more attractive proposition for potential investors.

“It is essential that consumers continue to use St George’s and the rest of the city centre to help our local businesses bounce back from the current crisis and to retain local jobs.”

Mark O’Rourke, owner of Winckley Square Ale House, Fino Tapas and La Neta Mexican, said he feared a ripple effect unless more can be done to help retailers. He said: “Since the closure of Debenhams and the Arcadia stores, there already is less of an appeal for shoppers to visit Preston, so with St George’s going into administration, struggling companies will be ending their leases and closing in the shopping centre.

“This will be catastrophic for the people who work in the centre, the shoppers because there is even less choice, but also for the hospitality industry and other independent businesses who rely on it. It is turning into such a dire situation here in Preston and there will be nothing left.”

Paul Butcher, manager of The Stanley Arms, on Lancaster Road added: “We already have fewer people who visit this end of town, so if St George’s closes, it will have such a huge impact on our business.

“It is a huge worry for us - the high street is being pushed down deeper and faster than ever before.”

The Lancashire-based organisation that has many retailers among its members, The Federation of Small Businesses, said that the three lockdowns and restricted openings over the past year had hit high streets hard.

Paul Foster, development manager in the county,- said: “We hope that those within the centre are supported to keep trading or to relocate locally so that the businesses and their employees are able to continue working, hopefully the city council and the BID can help co-ordinate this.

“It continues to be a tough time to run a retail outlet and the grants made available through local councils are not in most cases covering overheads, that being said retail businesses aren’t on their own in that regard – many businesses are struggling to keep afloat without any real income.

“We do need to consider how our town and city centres look in future to make sure they are fit for purpose.

“Preston has done some good work to encourage start-ups and independent small businesses and we will need to see more of this in future to ensure that we see a vibrant city centre.”

A History of St George's:

St George’s was opened in March 1966 and was originally a two floor open-air shopping centre, with a distinctive coloured mosaic design theme and centered around a rotunda which used to be known as the Bullring.

A roof was built on it in a major reworking in 1981 to make it more pleasant for shoppers and improve the links to the multi-storey car park off Lune Street.

It had another revamp in 1999.

The Mall company took over its running in 2002 and it underwent a rebranded as The Mall.

At that time a massive development scheme was planned to extend the centre and put in small stalls, main shops, cafes, restaurants, toilets, and escalators.

It was bought by Aviva Investors for £87m in March 2010 and the following September was rebranded under its original name St George’s Shopping Centre.

The Fishergate entrance was refurbished in 2016 as well as the corridors leading from the Fishergate and Lune Street entrances to the central rotunda. InfraRed bought the shopping centre from Aviva Investors for £73m in 2015.

In October 2019 plans were announced for a revamp of the centre by InfraRed and their asset managers Sovereign Centros. They aimed to create a restaurants quarter with five leisure units fronting Friargate. Among the big names interested were The Botanist and Mowgli but the pandemic halted the plans.