Curzon Cinemas is to anchor the new leisure and dining offer at The Bentall Centre, Kingston-on-Thames, further cementing the shopping centre’s position as the leading retail and leisure destination outside of central London.
Curzon has agreed a 25-year lease for 14,731 sq ft of space across three floors for a four-screen boutique cinema with rooftop terrace bar and restaurant. The new cinema, for which construction is due to commence in Summer 2018, is expected to open in Autumn 2019.
This represents the latest stage of Aviva Investors’ strategy to reposition The Bentall Centre by increasing the leisure offering and modernising entances and internal environments. The centre is already home to 75 leading consumer and leisure brands, including Yo!Sushi, Costa, Starbucks, Fuel, and is anchored by the Fenwick-operated Bentalls Department Store.
Philip Knatchbull, Chief Executive Officer of Curzon, commented, “When deciding where to open new cinemas, Kingston was a priority destination with The Bentall Centre and its central location an obvious choice for us. Our approach to modern cinema is to create amazing destination venues and the unforgettable customer experience we provide aligns perfectly with the consumer experience strategy The Bentall Centre team is developing and delivering.”
Simon Green, Director at Aviva Investors Real Estate, commented, “This letting to Curzon Cinemas is a major coup for The Bentall Centre and Kingston in general. It is a continuation of our strategy to ensure the asset is aligned to what customers want and fit for purpose in a changing world of retailing, where assets with strong destination appeal, in our view, will emerge as the winners. Curzon Cinema will be a major pull for the centre, adding to the great mix of retail and leisure brands already trading in the asset.”
The Bentall Centre opened in 1992 in the heart of Kingston and today is a prime retail destination for the town with an annual footfall of over 13.4 million shoppers (or 258,000 weekly). The centre comprises over 80 units arranged over four trading levels and 640,000 sq.ft. The centre is anchored by a 365,000 (33,910 sq m) Bentall Department Store (part of the Fenwick Group).