intu has announced the appointment of Laing O’Rourke as main contractor for a new £178m extension of its Watford shopping centre.
The extension, which will comprise a 1.4 million sq ft leisure and retail destination, will place Watford in CACI’s top 20 national retail destinations ranking, alongside Bristol and Edinburgh.
Head of UK Construction at Laing O’Rourke, Liam Cummins, commented on the appointment, saying: “We are delighted to be continuing to develop our partnership with intu, and look forward to delivering this transformational retail project for Watford.”
The extension is set to make a difference in the area’s retail offering, with Rebecca Ryman, intu’s regional director, adding: “intu Watford will transform the centre into a contemporary shopping experience providing a fantastic place to shop, eat and play. It will massively strengthen intu Watford as a destination which retailers want to invest in and our visitors enjoy.”
Plans for the extension are already taking form, with intu having some great names on board, including Las Iguanas, Byron and Cabana, as well as a nine screen Cineworld cinema. The more recent addition and anchor for the extension is a 113,000 sq ft Debenhams store.
Intu is the UK’s leading, manager, owner and developer of prime regional shopping centres.
