New face at refreshed Dalton Park as Fat Face joins retail line-up

Fat Face joins the North East’s No 1 outlet centre as £2.6m investment instigated by Realm concludes

Realm, the leading operator of outlet retail, has secured the first letting at Dalton Park, County Durham, following a programme of works that took place last year at the designer outlet.

Fat Face, the fashion and lifestyle retailer, will be bringing its popular mix of clothing and accessories to Dalton Park in the summer. The retailer will be taking a 3,490 sq ft unit, with fit-out beginning next month. 

Dalton Park has enjoyed a strong start to the year, with footfall up 5.3 per cent in the year to date and sales also increasing by 4.4 per cent in the same period, following refurbishment works at the 160,000 sq ft scheme, which is owned by TH Real Estate. This has included modernisations to the scheme’s shopfronts, installation of prominent timber façades and mall paving, as well as substantial landscaping being carried out and the introduction of lighting, pause points and mall furniture.

Colin Brooks, Managing Director of Realm, commented:

“Dalton Park has enjoyed strong footfall and sales figures over the past year, and with the refurbishment works now complete, trading figures have increased further, testament to the growing popularity of both the scheme and discount shopping among consumers.”

“We are very happy to welcome Fat Face to Dalton Park, where it will be well-placed to take advantage of the strong performance and the enhanced customer experience at the scheme, and will complement the impressive retail mix. The refurbishment works and this letting are evidence of our strategy in action to develop the retail experience for both customers and retailers, through scheme enhancements and attracting high-quality tenants.”

Daren Humphrey, Head of Acquisitions & Estates, Fat Face, said:

“The outlet market remains fairly new to us, but it is one that we are very excited to be expanding into, and complements our growth in other areas, including new stores in the USA, a new distribution centre and our updated website. As such, we look forward to joining the line-up at Dalton Park where we can make the most of both this popular scheme as well as the growing popularity of outlet retail.”

This year marks 15 years since the centre opened. To mark this milestone, the Dalton Park staff are carrying out ‘Giving 15’, which will see 15 fundraising events carried out in the local area. The first of these has been the donation of furniture, which was removed during the renovations, being donated to local school The Ribbon in Murton.