The Broadway shopping centre has been in the hands of receivers for over three and a half years – Councillors have been told.
But there has “never been the threat of the centre closing.”
Late last month it was announced that the shopping centre, which opened almost a decade ago and is home to stores including Primark, Boots and Next, was up for sale with a price tag of £74.23 million.
A release by property firm Savills said the centre was being marketed on behalf of Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA) receivers Jemma McAndrew and Matthew Nagle.
The news came as a surprise to many in the city, and raised questions about the future of both the centre and Bradford’s city centre retail scene.
It has now emerged that Bradford Council had only been made aware of the Broadway situation after reading an article about it in the sale in the Telegraph & Argus.
The Council has previously ruled out purchasing the shopping centre.
The Broadway’s future was raised at a meeting of Bradford Council on Tuesday evening, when Council bosses were asked what was being done to ensure the future of the shopping centre.
Council bosses said shopping centres across the country were “bought and sold regularly” and that the sale should not have any detrimental impact on the future regeneration of Bradford city centre.
A question from Councillor Jeanette Sunderland (Lib Dem, Idle and Thackley) asked: “Given the Broadway Shopping Centre appears from an article in the Telegraph and Argus to be in the hands of the receivers, will the Portfolio Holder inform Members when did the Council know this was happening, what action have they personally and officers taken to lessen the impact of this news on the people employed in the Centre, the plans for growth in the city and what steps are they taking to ensure the vitality and viability of the city centre?”
Image: Google Maps
A response from the Council’s Executive said: “This is a private commercial development, so the Council has asked the Broadway to provide an answer to the question:
Broadway’s responded with saying: “The Broadway Shopping centre has been in the hands of the joint Fixed Charge Receivers since 27 January 2022.
“It is important to note that Fixed Charge Receivership is different to the appointment of Administrators or Liquidators.
“Since this time, it has been business as usual for the Shopping Centre and there was never the threat of the centre closing or the Centre management team seeing a loss of their jobs. Through the Receivers there has been significant expenditure benefitting the Shopping Centre with the bringing in of Primark into part of the former Debenhams unit as well as other new retailers being attracted to the Centre.
“The Receivers and the Shopping Centre management team have liaised with the Council where required.
“The Shopping Centre is now being offered for sale by the Fixed Charge Receivers so that it can move forwards with a new owner and continue to be an important part of the City of Bradford retail scene.”
Since the receivers took over in early 2022, new businesses moving to Broadway have included Primark, clothing companies YOURS and Sapphire and eateries Jamaica Blue and Boo Burger.
High profile departures have included Superdry, Marks & Spencer and, most recently TG Jones (the rebranded WH Smith).
Referring to Cllr Sunderland’s question about when the Council found out about the sale, the response said: “Officers in the Department of Growth were not aware of the information prior to the T&A article.
“At this stage, jobs are not at risk and it would not be the responsibility of the council to engage with people employed in businesses in the shopping centre.
“The centre is being sold as an investment opportunity with a significant yield, and therefore it does not have any impact on the wider city centre regeneration.
“Shopping centres are bought and sold regularly as investments across the country.
“Our Invest in Bradford Team are also supporting a number of investors looking to locate into our city centre or relocate from the former markets, work vital to promote increased vibrancy and footfall in our retail core.
“The city centre has seen a number of businesses open in the last few months, encouraged by the investments the Council is making into major developments.”
