The owner of Churchill Square has confirmed it has sold the shopping centre to Ikea for an estimated £145 million.
The Swedish furniture retailer plans to convert the empty Debenhams store on-site into a new Ikea store, which is expected to open within two years.
Stores at Churchill Square – which gets more than 11 million visitors annually – will continue trading while the department store is being revamped.
The site includes the Chartwell Court residential tower block and three car parks, two of which are freehold.
Cindy Andersen, Ingka Centres managing director, said: “Brighton is known as a welcoming and progressive city so it is a real privilege to take up responsibility for delivering a revitalised meeting place of which the many people can be truly proud.
“We are excited to strengthen our portfolio with a well-established shopping destination in the heart of the vibrant and growing city of Brighton and Hove.
“It fits perfectly into our global expansion strategy, allowing us to transform a traditional retail space to a meeting place that is much more than just a place to shop.”
Ingka Centres said it hoped to develop Churchill Square infrastructure and energy efficiency and and support Brighton and Hove City Council’s “drive to establish a thriving local circular economy”.
The former Debenhams – the largest unit in Churchill Square – has been empty since 2020.
This comes after the parent company, Ingka Group, bought the Kings Mall, in Hammersmith, and opened its first smaller scale store, Livat, in March last year, selling home accessories alongside a Swedish deli and kitchen and bathroom planning services.
The owner of Churchill Square, Abrdn, said: “We can confirm that the Abrdn UK Shopping Centre Trust has sold Churchill Square, Brighton’s main shopping centre to Ingka Centres, part of the Ingka Group which also includes IKEA Retail.
“Having held the asset since the trust was launched in 2005, it was felt the time had come to sell the centre and use the proceeds for other purposes. Knight Frank advised through the sale process.”
According to the trade journal React News, Abrdn had hoped to sell the centre for £250 million when it was put on the market last year but it agreed a deal with Ingka Centres for £145 million.
Oh, how conincidental, I was just speaking about IKEA looking at purchasing Churchill Square yesterday, was my first time visiting one up in Croydon.
If the other shop units within the mall are being displaced, this might actually revitalise the high street a bit. There’s also a good incentive for the road network to improve access with the increased numbers, IKEAs seem to draw insane numbers of customers.
Yes but it still may be easier and cheaper to drive to Croydon 🙂
It won’t need improved road access since it’s not going to be an IKEA like the Croydon one, it will be a showroom where you order items for delivery rather than the large out of town stores where you buy and take it away with you.
This is true Bertie. I am wondering about their future plans though, owning the entire site means they could theoretically expand to as many units as they like as an when they become available, which may be simply through attrition!
I could be wrong but I don’t think that’s the aim here, the branch they’ve opened in Hammersmith is indicative of their plans for this one and having a huge out of town style outlet in the middle of Brighton would surely be a logistical nightmare.
Thankfully the Croydon branch will still be there for everyone who enjoys driving 50 miles to spend hours in a checkout queue when they could have just spent 5 minutes ordering online instead.
There is off-street sheltered parking behind the former Debenham with lift access to the old basement shoes area (when Debs was in there).
Would likely be significantly more cost effective to rent these out to other retailers than take over the space themselves.
How will this affect plans for a stadium etc.?
I doubt it will have any effect whatsoever.
For some while, with talk of the Brighton Centre moving east, there was the idea of knocking down the dismal building and expanding Chruchill. Perhaps this was always unlikely.
Will there be Swedish meatballs?
Crucial question. And i mean that seriously !
Why don’t you read the article that you are commenting on? It clearly explains that whilst they are taking ownership of the whole site, the IKEA store itself will only be in the Debenhams unit.
Yes they will have a deli serving them apparently
I brought a bag, I’ve yet to try them! I was told one must buy the meatballs.
Surely there cannot be an IKEA without meatballs?
This is great. Ikea did this in Hammersmith and it revitalised the centre and brought more and better shops. Hopefully it does the same here.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/feb/24/ikea-opens-first-city-centre-shopping-mall-in-west-london
More stuff to buy for people with too much money! 🙁
Or no money at all and too much debt?!
It’s a dream come true! We love IKEA but can’t drive to Croydon. We are 74 and 80 and hope we are still alive and kicking in two years time!! Sandy and Shirley
Hey there it’s Christian what about parking in brightion because they want a car free city centre at some point in the future
As they will own the car parks, will ikea make parking cheaper!??
More flat pack rubbish tossed out into the street following the arrival of another tackIkea.
Bad news.
As far as I’m concerned, I won’t pay the Ulez charge to shop at IKEA Croydon. Parking charges and anticar policies make Brighton a bad choice. Why would I want to pay extra for delivery from a store that will be unsuitable for car collection. I normally use the bus, but not for large or heavy items.
Unfortunately, this means that IKEA has lost a customer
It might not happen. It’s only IKEA, but it’s a day out if it opens. At least the ex-Debenhams will be used. But being very different to other IKEA Stores, it may not happen!