MetroCentre 4.68

intu Metrocentre, formerly MetroCentre and known on road signs as Metro Centre, is a shopping centre in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England.Located in Dunston, Gateshead, on a former industrial site near to the River Tyne, the Metrocentre opened in stages, with the first phase opening on 28 April 1986 and the official opening on 14 October 1986. It has more than 370 shops occupying 400000m2 of retail floor space, making it the largest shopping and leisure centre in the UK. Additional retail space is available in the adjoining Metro Retail Park and MetrOasis.The centre was rebranded as intu Metrocentre in 2013 following the renaming of its parent Capital Shopping Centres Group as Intu Properties.OriginsThe Metrocentre's construction was financed by the Church Commissioners of England, and was masterminded by Sir John Hall's company, Cameron Hall Developments, the ground upon which it is built was purchased for a mere £100,000 in the early 1970s. Access to the development was facilitated by an urban development grant from the Department of the Environment and the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. In October 1995, the centre was sold to Capital Shopping Centres (now Intu Properties) for £364m, although the Church Commissioners retained a 10% stake