Bluewater, Overgate and Touchwood break records for Lend Lease

The three UK retail destinations owned by Australian property group Lend Lease enjoyed a bumper Christmas and out-performed industry benchmarks.

Retailers at the centres - at Bluewater in Kent, Overgate in Dundee and Touchwood in Solihull - achieved an average increase in total sales of 14.4 per cent for November and 9.2 per cent for December.

This compares with the British Retail Consortium averages of 4.9 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively.

On the day after Boxing Day, there were 185,000 visitors to Bluewater, the highest footfall for one day since opening.

Peter Allwood, general manager, asset and property management at Lend Lease, said: 'In order to meet customer needs, we continually evolve each of our centres. This strategy is clearly paying dividends.'

A key driver for business has been the development of attractions for those accompanying the primary shopper, such as a spouse or child.

This summer, for example, Nestle-branded animatronics are to be introduced as an amusement for children at Bluewater.