River Island to upsize to anchor store at The Grafton, Cambridge

River Island is upgrading from a boutique store to a 9,110 sq ft anchor store at The Grafton, Cambridge, which is nearing the end of multimillion pound refurbishment.

The high street giant's new store is 260% bigger than its old site in the centre and will be situated in a prominent position within the newly revitalised Fitzroy Street mall.

Frances Baker, Property Director at River Island, said: “It’s been great to be able to work with the team behind The Grafton to design our new larger store. The new space will include our latest look-and-feel concept and will allow us to showcase a wider selection of our most popular ranges for our customers in Cambridge.”

Debenhams is also carrying out significant investment into its store at the centre and will introduce its new ‘beauty hall of the future’ concept, upgrade its food and beverage offer and make improvements to the store fit-out.

The Grafton will soon complete a two-year £28.5m refurbishment programme, which has enabled it to create new units to attract new brands and drive footfall, which currently stands at 9.5m per annum. The scheme is owned by LGIM Real Assets (Legal & General) and asset managed by Wrenbridge.

Tom Williams, Fund Manager at LGIM Real Assets, said: “It’s really positive to see retailers recognising the benefit of the refurbishment work. This has allowed us to enhance the retail offer at The Grafton and create a more appealing environment to attract shoppers and retailers.

"We’re delighted that River Island has chosen our refreshed centre as the location for its new store. We know that the upsized store will appeal to our catchment and the numerous students and office workers located nearby.”