Ipswich: Retailers return to Sailmakers Shopping Centre

The current vacancies represent a marked improvement on the number of retail units standing empty a year ago at the shopping complex.

In June 2022, a quarter of the 32 retail units in the shopping centre were vacant.

A host of new businesses have opened in the last year at the centre which was taken over by ALB Group just over a year ago.

Sailmakers Shopping Centre was struggling just over a year ago. Credit: Google Maps (Image: Google Maps)

These include Harry's Handcrafted Doughnuts, health and beauty brand Bodycare, health food shop The Vitamin Bar, fashion brand Leading Labels, beauty salon Brows on Fleek and phone retailer Mi Mobile.

The newest additions to the shopping centre include The Nerd Hut, Retro Realm and Attic in the Moon, all of which have moved from Microshops.

Bridie Burn, owner of The Nerd Hut, said: "I think it's fantastic, what has been happening at Sailmakers.

"There was a period where the shopping centre was considered quite an uninviting area and to see how much it's flourished is really exciting."

Bridie Burn from The Nerd Hut is moving into Sailmakers. Credit: Tom Cann (Image: Tom Cann)

Arran Bailey, managing director of ALB Group, said: "It's fantastic to see more and more operators coming into Sailmakers, filling empty units and adding more and more of a buzz to the centre."

Oliver Marshall, a director at Fisher Hargreaves Proctor, who leases the units, said: "The new ownership has created a thriving environment for the tenants within, and it's encouraging to see tenants from elsewhere in Ipswich noticing that and taking up space within the centre."

Figures from ALB Group show that more than half a million people visited the shopping centre during December 2022, a 54% increase in 2021, with figures for the whole of 2022 indicating a 66% jump in visitor numbers compared with 2021.

The three remaining units can be leased and found here.