intu the UK’s leading owner, manager and developer of prime regional shopping centres has appointed Laing O’Rourke as the main contractor to build its multi-million pound extension of intu Watford.
Liam Cummins, Head of UK Construction at Laing O’Rourke said: “We are delighted to be continuing to develop our partnership with intu, and look forward to delivering this transformational retail project for Watford.”
The extension of intu Watford is set to create a single 1.4 million sq ft retail and leisure destination, placing Watford in CACI’s top 20 national retail destinations ranking, alongside Edinburgh and Bristol. “Our £178m extension of intu Watford will transform the centre into a contemporary shopping experience providing a fantastic place to shop, eat and play. It will massively strengthen intu Watford as a destination which retailers want to invest in and our visitors enjoy,” said Rebecca Ryman, regional director of intu.
intu recently announced a 113,000 sq ft Debenhams store as the anchor for the extension and has already confirmed some great catering names including Las Iguanas, Byron and Cabana, plus a nine screen Cineworld cinema. A number of new brands such as Kiko and Smiggle have also recently opened in the centre.
Rebecca Ryman added: “We have a distinctive approach to asset management that combines our expertise, experience and the intu brand difference to create vibrant places for shopping and leisure. This strategy, combined with our unrivalled understanding of what the UK customer wants, means we can deliver compelling shopping experiences that attract customers from further and for longer, to help retailers, restaurateurs and leisure operators flourish.”