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The Bracknell Regeneration Partnership (BRP) has signed Fat Face and Carphone Warehouse for its £240 million retail and leisure regeneration project The Lexicon. This brings the total of new lettings announced in the last month to seven.

Lifestyle clothing and accessories retailer Fat Face is a significant addition for The Avenue, one of the new streets for fashion in the Lexicon, with the new Marks and Spencer and Fenwick stores book-ending the street. 

In addition, Carphone Warehouse will be relocating from its store in Princess Square into a new larger store on Braccan Walk, opposite the new Primark store.

This news follows August's announcement of five new signings including Smiggle, Beaverbrooks and Footlocker. The new development is now 70% let by floor area equating to just under 400,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space.

BRP has also announced that the new scheme will open on September 7 2017.  The opening has been rescheduled to coincide with the completion of the upgrading of some of the materials and buildings in the scheme, as well as the completion of new areas of public realm to ensure that the new scheme provides a totally new customer experience.

The one year to go milestone was marked this week by the completion of the iconic Fenwick cladding which was celebrated at an event on September 13 2016, with the final piece being lifted into place to complete the eye-catching external envelope of the building.

Hugo Fenwick, Trading Director of Fenwick, said, “We are delighted to be opening our first new  Fenwick in over a decade at The Lexicon Bracknell .This façade is a real feature of this store and will form a dramatic backdrop to the Lexicon creating a markedly different experience during the day and at night. It is excellent that the construction of the scheme is progressing well alongside the breadth of tenants that have recently signed up .We look forward to commence fitting out our store in earnest later this autumn in readiness for launch in 2017.”

Clad in cast natural aluminium panels, the building features random perforations that form a waved pattern which act as a veil to the retail activity beyond. These perforated panels are specially back-lit which create a markedly different experience through the day and at night.

Simon Russian, development manager for Legal & General on behalf of the Bracknell Regeneration Partnership, says: “Whilst there has been some uncertainty in the economy over the last couple of months following the EU referendum, interest in The Lexicon from occupiers has remained strong. This is demonstrated by the impressive line-up of lettings over the past month or so.

“We have a number of other lettings in the pipeline. Now that the opening date has been confirmed in the late summer next year, we are confident that The Lexicon will deliver a fantastic shopping and dining experience from day one and for many years to come.’’

With more than 600 workers on site, the construction team is on track to complete the programme to handover to retailers and restauranteurs in plenty of time for the late summer 2017 opening.

Cllr Marc Brunel-Walker, executive member for economic development and regeneration, says: “I am thrilled major retail names are continuing to secure their place at The Lexicon Bracknell and am excited for shoppers across the region who will enjoy them in such a fantastic environment.”

 

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Bracknell Regeneration Partnership (BRP), Bracknell Forest Council (BFC), Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership and the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) are working together to ensure that the town centre meets the needs of retailers, occupiers and the local community both now and in the future.