Landmark shopping centre up for sale for £74m

The Broadway shopping centre opened in 2015

The Broadway Shopping Centre in Bradford has been put on the market for £74m.

London-based estate agent Savills is handling the sale of the site which includes 72,876 sq ft (6,770 sq m) of retail and leisure space.

The centre presently has 57 stores advertised on its website including major retailers Primark, JD Sports, Boots, Superdrug and Next.

Construction work on Broadway began in 2004, but several delays meant it did not open until 2015.

Mark Garmon-Jones, director of retail investment at Savills, said the site was a "modern, dominant prime retail investment at the heart of a growing and vibrant city".

He said Bradford continued to attract public and private sector investment making it an "even more attractive prospect for potential buyers".

"From an investment perspective, it provides the chance to acquire a scheme with compelling reversionary potential and several exciting active asset management opportunities."

The sale has been announced just before the tenth anniversary of the centre opening

Savills said it was acting on behalf of LPA (Law of Property Act 1925) Receivers Jemma McAndrew & Matthew Nagle who are part of its Recoveries and Receivership team.

An LPA receiver is a person, not necessarily an insolvency practitioner, appointed by a lender holding a fixed charge over property, to enforce that charge over the property.

A spokesperson for The Broadway said "no-one was available to comment at this time."

London-based Munroe K Asset Management Ltd confirmed it manages the centre on behalf of owners Broadway (Bradford) Limited, but when approached for comment on the sale it referred the BBC to Savills.

Work began on the £260m centre in 2004 but stopped in 2008 because of the global financial crisis.

It resulted in the site being dubbed the "Bradford hole" by some residents.

Broadway Bradford had more than 70 restaurants, cafes and shops when it opened, and developer Westfield claimed it would create 2,500 permanent jobs and boost footfall in the city by 40%.

The leader of Bradford Council at the time, David Green, said the opening represented a "real landmark" for the city.

Several major high street chains based at Broadway such as Debenhams no longer exist on the high street and M&S opted to leave the centre last year.

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