WORK on Winchester’s newest sports shop is underway, with the popular retailer hoping to open before Christmas.
Workmen are busy fitting out the former New Look shop inside The Brooks Shopping Centre, ready for Sports Direct to move in next month.
Mirrors, changing rooms and some of the decor have already been installed.
Yarrow Estates Ltd, a consortia of investors led by Winchester-based investors and developers Gentian, bought the shopping centre in January and has since been working with the Brooks management team, its tenants and Winchester City Council, to improve the centre by securing new tenants, reducing energy wastage and improving visitor experience.
READ MORE: Sports Direct to open in former New Look shop in Winchester
The company announced Sports Direct would be moving in, at the end of October, and hopes that the deal will prove popular.
Following the announcement, Simon Turpin, director and asset manager, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Sports Direct back to Winchester.
“The Brooks is the perfect location in the city centre for them, where the large sized unit they wanted, can be provided alongside other great brands, and at a much lower per square foot rent and rates, than on the High Street. We expect to see a significant increase in footfall when they open, which will in turn benefit all our other tenants.”
With other new tenants agreed and due to be announced in the New Year, the shopping centre has been fully let out for the first time in decades.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here