Sailmakers bosses say Ipswich is proving their plan to “save town centres”, as major brands commit to remaining in the shopping centre.

Both Morrisons and HMV have said that they will be keeping their stores in the Tavern Street shopping centre for the foreseeable future.

Morrisons has just signed a new 10-year lease on its premises, which can be found near the Sailmakers bus station entrance in Tower Ramparts. The supermarket opened its doors in April last year.

Meanwhile, HMV has signed a new five-year lease on its neighbouring unit.

This news comes just weeks after Poundland announced that it had reversed its decision to close its Sailmakers store.

Sailmakers is owned by ALB Group, which bought the shopping centre in 2022.

The Nottingham-based company has already transformed sites across the country in places such as Sheffield, Derby and Peterborough.

ALB Group’s managing director Arran Bailey said that the firm is on a mission to buy-up multiple properties in high streets and retail parks across the UK in order to breathe new life into retail centres that had been hit by the cost-of-living crisis, Covid and the growth in online shopping.

“My vision was to save these town centres and other retail sites by approaching the situation very differently from traditional landlords,” explained Mr Bailey.

“By offering more affordable and far more flexible terms to our tenants, we’ve encouraged many smaller, independent and niche businesses to launch their businesses.

“This has revitalised the locations we have been targeting, attracted more shoppers and, as a result, the bigger, national retail brands are recognising that these sites are great places to be.

“We’re delighted that Morrisons, HMV and Poundland have all chosen to remain at Sailmakers. It really does show that big name brands have got renewed confidence in Sailmakers shopping centre.”