Firmly cementing its place as one of the leading shopping and leisure destinations in the North, Trafford Palazzo is celebrating a record-breaking year with a total of 81,536 sq. ft of new lettings secured – a 36% increase on 2023 – plus three exciting tenants signed up for openings in 2025.
Owned and operated by Peel Retail & Leisure, Trafford Palazzo has also achieved its best-ever footfall, with a 7% increase year-on year testament to the business successfully building on its strategy of blending retail with more experiential tenants to create a well-rounded lifestyle offering for visitors.
The level of tenant’s investment into the centre over the course of the past year has surpassed a total value of £13.4m which is reflected in the high quality standard of shopfits being delivered across the centre, Peel Retail & Leisure also have plans to continue to invest in the infrastructure of Trafford Palazzo including improvement to its overall facilities and ancillary services to further enhance the customer experience for the increasing number of visitors the destination is attracting.
2024 saw Trafford Palazzo put on its skates and elevate its offering with the highly anticipated opening of Archies Atomic. The £3m site compromises a bright pink 5,000 sq. ft roller rink, the largest in the North West, and joins Trafford Palazzo’s line-up of first-of-their-kind lifestyle concepts alongside Nerf AX and King Pins.
Speaking about the new opening at Trafford Palazzo, Nuno Lopes, Operations Director at Archie’s said: “Archie’s Atomic is delighted to take residency as the latest leisure and hospitality venue at Trafford Palazzo. Trafford Palazzo was the leading choice of location due to its positioning as a home for unique leisure and retail experiences.
“We found that we aligned on our vision for the future of not only Archie’s but the shopping and leisure centre experience in general – prioritising exciting and memorable experience-led retail spaces.”
The centre has also secured leading sport retailer Sports Direct as its latest big-name tenant on a long-term agreement. Set to open in early 2025, Sports Direct will take a premium footfall location within the mall, boasting the world’s leading sports and leisure brands, including Nike, adidas, Puma, and ASICS.
In addition to Sports Direct, the new calendar year will see Detroit Slims, a brand-new Detroit-style pizza concept from the founders of Manchester-favourite Ramona, debut at Trafford Palazzo adding further diversity to the destination’s line-up of F&B brands.
It has also been a record-breaking year for the centre’s free events programme, which saw 16 headline events delivered over multiple days and weeks. The programme is dedicated to providing additional experiences and entertainment to visitors, including a five-week ‘TP Summer Sport-Fest’ which saw over 1,000 children take part in a host of activities during the summer holidays. More recently the centre hosted ‘Halloween Havoc’ which attracted 2,200 children who took part in Halloween themed crafts during October Half Term.
Trafford Palazzo also has a dedicated brand activation space that has been designed as a flexible, easy-to-fit out platform for smaller businesses, including independent and on-line retailers, to activate short-term pop-up opportunities. This calendar year, luxury sample sale provider Showcase, brought leading brands including Mulberry, Nadine Merabi, Kate Spade and Self Portrait to Trafford Palazzo over consecutive weekends.
Mark Whittaker, Managing Director at Peel Retail & Leisure, said: “Trafford Palazzo is generating strong momentum as a destination that is proving significantly attractive to both traditional retailers and experiential operators – and we will be announcing another major addition to our retail offering early next year.
“We sit at the heart of TraffordCity which will become one of the most exciting regions in the country with the opening of Therme Wellbeing Resort next door to Trafford Palazzo alongside a new Padel Club facility by Chill Factore, plus new mixed-used residential neighbourhood. We can only see further increases in visitor numbers and experience-seekers, which will aid our ability to bring even more next generation offerings into the centre.”
Community remains a key focus for Trafford Palazzo, with the destination supporting over 5,000 visitors through its free events programme and organising a number of charity events. During October, Peel Retail and Leisure organised the annual Wave of Light remembrance to support families affected by pregnancy trauma and baby loss as well as raise funds for Tommy’s Charity. Just recently, Peel Retail & Leisure has chosen Destination Florida as the Trafford Palazzo charity partner for 2025 following a public vote. Destination Florida supports children with life-limiting conditions from the North of England with once-in-a-lifetime trips to Florida.
