The manager of the Royal Quays Outlet shopping center stressed that business was business as usual as a buyer is sought for the North Tyneside complex.

It was revealed yesterday how the North Shields shopping center and its 55 units were put on the market with a price tag of £4million, after going into receivership. Daniel Hardy and Peter Loveday of commercial property consultancy Sanderson Weatherall LLP have been appointed receivers of the center by a bank, as mortgagees.

The receivers said they replaced WD Limited, which managed the Royal Quays on behalf of the owners – North Shields Investments Properties Limited, an overseas entity registered in Jersey. The receivers said they had decided it was “appropriate to end the involvement of WD Limited and appoint the Newcastle office of Sanderson Weatherall to manage it more strategically”.

Read more: Subway driver rescues woman who jumped in front of train in Pelaw during rush hour

As agents for Sanderson Weatherall and Knight Frank market the 137,500 square foot property, center manager Matt Dawson stressed that it’s business as usual – and the future looks bright.

In a letter posted on social media, he said: “The center went into receivership in mid-January, and out of respect for our tenants and everyone who works at Royal Quays, everyone was immediately informed as we knew this news would eventually break. and create lots of questions. The article did not surprise anyone here because everything has been going on as normal for three months now.

“With the center for sale, it’s not bad news! The place does not close. No houses will be built. Land is useless. It has nothing to do with high rents and rising rents. We did what we could for the companies that have been here (within reason) to benefit them and the center.

“Many other centers have gone through the same situation and have been bought out and carried on as usual. Retail has changed everywhere over the past 10 years due to e-commerce, Covid, shopping habits, cost of living, etc. The center is for sale and the future buyer will gain many businesses and tenants. We support each other like a family and we all want the best for the center and for every client who visits us. We hope that the future buyer will be as passionate as each of us here because there is a lot of potential.

He added: “We are in very good hands with a bright future. Please let it be known that the center is not closing, everything is business as usual, as it hurts all businesses here! Thank you for all of your continued support!”

As well as 55 units, over 600 parking spaces and an annual income of £464,024 – thanks to tenants including Costa, Next, Poundland, Clarks, Mountain Warehouse, The Works and Trespass – the new owners could ring in a series of changes. The Royal Quays site has planning permission in place for a 70-room, two-storey hotel that the new owners could build on. The site also last year obtained permission to build a terrace of four industrial units on vacant land to the south of the site.

Read more: Woman ‘lucky to survive’ after glass falls from subway station roof

Retail consultant Graham Soult agreed that the receivership was a positive step: “In many ways it’s a good thing because if someone else can own the center, someone a little more local could allow Matt to really push his plans forward. In the end it is a good asset. There are some good businesses there and it’s a viable hub serving that community, but it’s also something people will travel to again because it has things you can’t find anywhere elsewhere. It has decent national brands and interesting independents, which is the way to go.

“Being where it is I don’t think it can really compete with Dalton Park, but it can reinvent itself to be something really successful and center manager Matt is a good part of the way – from a In a way, I’m excited because if someone new can accept that and let Matt unleash his potential, then that could be a really successful plan.

“It’s also not that unusual for malls to go into receivership. What is important to say is that it is not because a center is placed in receivership that it will close. On the contrary, it usually gives someone with new ideas and more in tune with a place the opportunity to enter.

READ NEXT