Darwin Shopping Centre 3.6

The Darwin Shopping Centre is the largest of the three main shopping centres in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, comprising approximately 17 per cent of the town centre's retail offer by leasable area.It was built by John Laing Developments in 1989 and refurbished in 2002. It is due to undergo further refurbishment in a plan being devised by Chapman Taylor Architects as part of the New Riverside redevelopment.OwnershipThe mall has shared a turbulent recent history with the Pride Hill and Riverside centres which came under common ownership in 2003 under Dunedin Property. Protego’s UK Actively Managed Shopping Centre Fund acquired the centres in 2006, serviced by a loan provided by Lehman Brothers. Defaulting on £82m of that loan, the centres entered receivership with the collapse of Lehman.UK Commercial Property Trust (managed by Ignis Asset Management) took control of the three centres in March 2010 and is under management by Ignis and Shearer Property Group. The Darwin centre has been attributed a nominal value of £38.6m as part of the £63.6m purchase.RetailersMarks & Spencer anchors the centre and is the largest unit by some way, featuring two retail floors and a mezzanine level. The former Woolworths is occupied by an H&M with 22000sqft spread over two levels.Principal tenants also include Home Bargains, Monsoon, Poundland, River Island, Topshop and W H Smith.