British Land is planning to start a £38m upgrade of the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre in south London next year.
The property firm has taken full ownership of the development, buying Tesco’s 50% holding for £48m, and will now add a 100,000 sq ft extension to the existing 300,000 sq ft shopping centre.
British Land also plans an extensive refurbishment of the existing centre along with improvements to public spaces and connections to Surrey Quays and Canada Water tube and bus stations.
Canada Water, which is in the Rotherhithe Peninsula and close to Canary Wharf, has been designated as one of London's major regeneration areas.
In a separate move, British Land has also agreed a deal to redevelop the neighbouring Daily Mail printing works’ site in Canada Water. Southwark Council has given its approval for the Daily Mail General Trust (DMGT) to assign its leasehold interest in the 14.5-acre Harmsworth Quays site to British Land.
Vacant possession of the site will be available later this year following the relocation of the Mail’s printing to Thurrock. Both Southwark Council and British Land have committed to exploring the potential to create a new campus for Kings College as part of the scheme, to complement proposals for an adjoining site at the Mulberry Business Park.
British Land head of development Nigel Webb said: "We have demonstrated our long term commitment to Southwark through our interests and investments in the area, both as part of BL Canada Quays bringing regeneration around Canada Water Station and at Surrey Quays Shopping Centre. We believe the Harmsworth Quays site is a fantastic opportunity to deliver the ambition of the Canada Water masterplan and we look forward to working with the London Borough of Southwark to develop the emerging Area Action Plan."
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