North Shields' Royal Quays shopping centre placed into receivership

The Royal Quays shopping complex in North Shields is up for sale

A shopping centre with dozens of tenants has been placed into receivership and put up for sale.

Sanderson Weatherall has been appointed receivers of The Royal Quays Outlet in North Shields.

Its management said the site, which has been listed at £4m, would be "continuing as normal" throughout.

Independent traders said the sale announcement had come as a surprise and they hoped a deal to keep it open would be agreed.

'Retail has changed'

Centre manager Matt Dawson confirmed receivers had been initially appointed in mid-January.

He said retail had "changed everywhere" in the past decade due to online shopping, the Covid pandemic and the cost of living.

However he said they were confident it would survive as other shopping centres had been in the "same situation" and eventually bought out.

"The centre is up for sale and the future buyer will be gaining many great businesses and tenants," he said.

The shopping centre, which has been open for more than two decades, is home to a number of chain and independent shops.

'A shock'

Claire Ellison, who runs Quay Pets and Aquatics, said: "We were told of the sale many months ago and initially, yes it was a shock, but we have full reassurances that we are going nowhere," she said.

"We have built up a brilliant store in our location with the full support of the local community and the centre team, so much so that during the hard testing times of Covid, we doubled the size of our store."

Ms Ellison said the shopping centre was a significant community asset and that tenants "firmly believe we have something worth pushing forward".

The shop says it has built a "brilliant" following in the community

The family-run Alternative Stores, which moved to the shopping centre in 2021, said the site "still has so much going for it".

Sanderson Weatherall has since terminated the previous management firm after being appointed to take control of the site.

Daniel Hardy, from the firm, said it remained "business as usual" and believed it was "likely that a purchaser will view the opportunity accordingly".

He added there was scope for further development on the site as it has outline planning consent for a 70-room hotel.

Council monitoring

Julie Dodds, North Tyneside Council's head of inclusive economy and business growth, said: "We're working with the owners and the individual tenants and businesses impacted to look at how they may be affected and offer our support.

"The Royal Quays shopping centre is home to a number of retail businesses that bring a range of jobs and employment to our borough and currently it's operating as usual.

"Nationally, the retail sector is experiencing challenges and we hope that the centre is able to continue to operate moving forward."