ROBERT HITCHINS TEAMS UP WITH INTERNATIONAL RETAIL DESTINATION COMPANY TO BARGAIN HUNT

The great British public loves a bargain and over the last 30 years the popularity of designer outlet shopping has continued to rise, bucking almost every retail trend.

Bicester Village, which opened in 1995, has long kept its place as one of the world’s most successful designer outlet centres. Two years later, the McArthurGlen outlet centre in Swindon opened.

Like any retail offer, designer outlets cater to different levels of consumer, with Bicester being at the very top.

restaurants and cafes. Construction is due to start on site next autumn with the first phase expected to open towards the end of 2021.

The scheme is part of a wider retail development including a new 81,800 sq ft garden centre, alongside an existing M&S supermarket, Starbucks and BP petrol filling station.

A planning application for 850 homes, a school and local centre has also been submitted.

“Gloucester Quays was the first designer outlet centre to open in Gloucestershire in 2009. Now, a decade later, the county is about to welcome a second”

Gloucester Quays was the first designer outlet centre to open in Gloucestershire in 2009. Now, a decade later, the county is about to welcome a second.

Cheltenham developer Robert Hitchins has teamed up with leading European outlet company ROS Retail Outlet Shopping to develop a new designer outlet centre at Junction 9 of the M5 near Tewkesbury.

It will be called Designer Outlet Cotswolds, and the 195,000 sq ft outlet village will open in two phases and feature some 90 retail units,

The development is the first venture in the UK by ROS Retail Outlet Shopping and shows its confidence in the growth potential of outlet shopping.

The Vienna-based company, one of the top five outlet operators in Europe, currently manages 10 outlet centres in Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Croatia and Hungary.

Simon Tothill, Property & Development Director of Robert Hitchins, said: “Designer Outlet Cotswolds will reflect the architecture and materials of the historic towns and villages of the Cotswolds.”

The Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) attracts more than 23 million visitors annually.