Andover News
Sir George urges action on centre's empty shops
2:09pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012
ANDOVER MP Sir George Young has written to the owners of the Chantry Centre over the number of empty shops, asking them to review their rental policy to win new business for the town.
AXA Real Estate act as fund manager for Friends Life Company, which holds a long lease on the centre, and a spokesman said they were ‘very much aware of the growing void rate in the centre’.
Senior asset manager Hugh Milliken said: “This is the result of a number of factors.”
These included the economic downturn and the squeeze on consumer expenditure; the growth of out-oftown shopping including the growing share of non food sales taken by the main supermarkets; and the failure of a number of regional and national retailers in the centre.
See the full story in this week's paper.