Festival Place, Grosvenor's major extension to Basingstoke town centre, has opened its doors to the public with a handful of shops still to let and several stores still to shopfit.
Grosvenor has invested more than£300 million in Festival Place. Apart from 160 additional shops and new Debenhams and Bhs anchors, Festival Place also provides a new leisure, cinema and restaurant quarter for Basingstoke - Festival Square.
Retail director John Bullough said Grosvenor is 'very pleased' with the letting levels achieved.
During the early stages of the campaign, Bullough admitted that Grosvenor had encountered a 'challenging market', but had 'held its nerve' in discussions with retailers.
Festival Place has sought to regenerate Basingstoke's retail offer and win back shoppers which have gone elsewhere, such as The Oracle in Reading.
Basingstoke attracted 15 million shoppers before Festival Place opened last week. 'We only need to show a modest shift to well exceed that,' said Bullough.
Grosvenor, which has been working on the development for eight years, will retain a 25 per cent stake in the scheme.
Grosvenor chief executive Stephen Musgrave said: 'We believe that Festival Place will set new standards throughout the UK.'
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