Frasers Group buys Glasgow’s Braehead mall as its acquisition spree continues

It’s rare that a month goes by without news of Frasers Group buying another business and the latest announcement came on Thursday with the acquisition-hungry retail giant buying Braehead Shopping Centre.

It’s just a month since the group bough a majority stake in American luxury retailer The Webster and three months since it revealed it now had a stake in leisure specialist We Do Play.

But as well as buying such businesses it’s also been increasing its ownership of malls and retail parks. So why Braehead in particular?

Well, the Glasgow destination is Scotland’s largest retail and leisure destination with annual footfall of over 15 million visitors and totalling over 1 million square feet.

The company said the acquisition reinforces its “commitment to investing in high-potential retail destinations. Property acquisitions such as this one play a key role in Frasers Group’s Elevation Strategy, adding Braehead — which serves the UK’s largest retail spend catchment outside of London — to a strong and growing property portfolio across the UK”.

A few months ago, former owner SGS said Braehead had attracted a record number of visitors in the year ending June, with a year-on-year increase in footfall and spend by 4% and 3%, respectively, “outperforming regional and industry benchmark figures”.

And its tenants had committed to investing £10 million in their stores over the course of 2025 up to that point, “driven by demand from both new entrants and reinvestment from existing brands”, with 16 tenants renewing or extending leases so far in 2025.

CEO Michael Murray added on Thursday that the purchase “cements the group’s position as a leading operator and champion of physical retail destinations while unlocking greater opportunities to serve communities with the best brands, environments and experiences possible”.

Claire Barber, CEO of SGS UK Retail, also said: “The sale of Braehead was always part of our strategic plan and through active management, we have delivered substantial value enhancement and successfully stabilised the asset, attracting new brands and increasing its relevance and appeal to customers.  We have created a strong platform from which Frasers Group can continue to drive growth, leveraging its retail expertise to further unlock Braehead’s potential as one of the leading retail destinations in Scotland.

“In light of strong leasing performance and the significant progress made in discussions with brands, we continue to see significant value creation opportunities in the group’s remaining three assets.”

Those assets are Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex, Victoria Centre in Nottingham and Harlequin Watford.

Braehead had been owned by SGS since it took it over after the collapse of Intu Properties in 2020. There have been rumours for a while that it wanted to sell the centre (as well as rumours that Frasers has also been eyeing a big stake in Manchester’s Arndale mall).

While the purchase price wasn’t disclosed, the company certainly has enough cash to make big-league acquisitions. Back in July it announced new funding facilities that gave it access to borrowings of up to an aggregate amount of £3 billion.

Braehead isn’t the first Scottish shopping destination Frasers has acquired. It also bought Overgate Dundee back in 2023 and has invested heavily in it since then. 

It has bought others across the UK too. Just over a year ago it confirmed full ownership of the 600,000 sq ft Princessshay Shopping Centre in Exeter, the 350,000 sq ft Fremlin Shopping Centre in Maidstone, Kent, and the 65,000 sq ft Olympus Centre retail park in Quedgeley, Gloucester. 

That was just a month after it bought the St Nicholas Arcade (St Nics), the 160,000 sq ft shopping centre in Lancaster. It has also taken on Doncaster’s Frenchgate shopping centre, The Mall in Luton and Junction 32 on the outskirts of Leeds.