Bury - Market Demand Analysis
The Challenge/Task
Pragma conducted a market demand analysis in Bury, a market town north of Greater Manchester, on behalf of Bruntwood.
Bruntwood and Bury Council formed a joint venture and acquired Mill Gate Shopping Centre in April 2022, with a view to redeveloping the scheme to deliver a mixed-use asset that will increase the relevance to both existing residents and bring new users to the town. Bruntwood were keen to understand the quantum of retail space that should be retained and how an optimised retail offer could trade in the future, as part of a transformed town centre proposition.
WHAT WE DID
Pragma worked closely with Bruntwood on the following workstreams:
Reviewed the town centre’s catchment, resident, and shopper profile. Identified and quantified the user groups that currently provide most value to Bury and those with the potential to do so in the future
Reviewed footfall and mobile phone data to understand usage of the town centre by time of day, day of week, and month. This data was disaggregated to understand the usage of different town centre areas by user group
Audited Bury town centre’s existing provision and estimated sales for all town centre occupiers. Comparing spend potential with turnover allowed for the determination of existing market shares and comparison by merchandise category with that achieved by similar locations, quantifying potential for improved turnover performance by merchandise category
Estimated sales for occupiers in Mill Gate Shopping Centre were compared with occupancy costs to determine the profitability of existing occupiers and the viability of their future tenure. Site visits allowed for recommendation on which occupiers should be retained in situ, relocated or replaced
Identified the optimum quantum, format, location and price point of future retail for the redeveloped scheme, supported by identification of best-in-class practice from benchmark locations to support delivery
The Result
The final outputs informed a framework for future development in Bury town centre and redevelopment plans specifically for Mill Gate Shopping Centre. It details strategies to optimise the tenant mix in the town centre and Mill Gate Shopping Centre as well as ways to repurpose areas of the town centre for leisure-based activities to suit the identified target groups.
”The insight Pragma provide is integral for us when initially looking to visualise what our town centre retail proposition should look like. In Bury, their insight has informed out Strategic Regeneration Feedback, which is currently out for consultation and is receiving excellent feedback. Andrew and his team are incredibly knowledgeable and their insight has been invaluable for us across 3 projects now. Unlike most data companies, the work they do provides real insight, rather than a list of relatively useless stats. We perceive them as a key part of our planning process for new projects and will use them on all new town projects going forwards.”
James Tootle
Head of Retail & Leisure
Bruntwood