Mander Centre

Mander Centre
Location	Wolverhampton, England
Opening date	6 March 1968, Refurbished: 1987 & 2003
Developer	Manders Holdings Plc
Management	Robert Gough (Centre Manager)
Owner	Benson Elliot Capital Management
Architect	Stanley Sellers
No. of stores and services	100+
No. of anchor tenants	2 (Boots & New Look)
Total retail floor area	620,000 sq ft (57,600 sq m)
No. of floors	2
Parking	530 space multi-storey car park
Website	http://www.mandercentre.co.uk

The Mander Centre is a major shopping centre in Wolverhampton City Centre, developed by Manders Holdings Plc, the paint, inks and property conglomerate, between 1968 and 1974. The site occupies four and a half acres comprising the old Georgian works and offices of the Mander family firm, founded in 1773, as well as the site of the former Queens Arcade (promoted privately by Charles Tertius Mander), which had stood on the site since 1902.

When the main part of the Mander Centre opened in 1968, the Central Arcade retained its Edwardian architecture and was refurbished as the main entrance to the Mander Centre from Dudley Street.

In May 1974 the Central Arcade was destroyed by a severe fire which reduced it to rubble, which was declared unsafe and was subsequently demolished. The area was later rebuilt as the entrance to the centre.^[1]

Recent History

The Centre was refurbished in 1987, when it was described as "a covered pedestrianised shopping complex at the centre of the principal shopping area of Wolverhampton" with more than 150 shops. In 2003 the Centre embarked on a further multi-million pound refurbishment programme. It was an opportunity to complete the enclosure of the Centre to make it fully climate controlled. The marble floor in the entire centre was replaced along with the relocation of the escalators and stairways. The biggest change was the creation of the large New Look store which took over numerous stores.

In 2010 the Mander Centre was acquired by Delancey Estates and Royal Bank of Scotland from Manders Holdings Plc and its successor companies. In the spring of 2014 this led to heated national controversy when they proceeded to remove a landmark bronze sculpture, 'Rock Form (Porthcurno)', by Barbara Hepworth, specially commissioned for the site and donated by the Mander family and shareholders in 1968. Its sudden disappearance led to questions in Parliament in September 2014. Paul Uppal, Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South West said: "When the Rock Form was donated by the Mander family, it was done so in the belief it would be enjoyed and cherished by the people of Wolverhampton for generations… It belongs to, and should be enjoyed by, the City of Wolverhampton."

Later the same year it was announced by Delancey that they were going to invest £25 million in the Mander Centre, completing a major refurbishment and reconfiguration of the centre and creating a new 90,000 sq ft Department Store. On 4 December it was announced that the Mander Centre had been acquired by Benson Elliot Capital Management for £59 million, and that the £35 million investment was still going ahead. It was also announced that the 90,000 sq ft store that is to be created during the refurbishment will be occupied by Debenhams and will be completed by 2017.^[2]

Redevelopment

Throughout 2016 and 2017 the Mander Centre will see a multi-million pound investment from owners Benson Elliot. As part of the investment the centre will be completely refurbished and configured, a series of new larger stores will be created, forcing some stores to close down and relocate within the centre. Notably the closure of WH Smith and Tesco and the eventual relocation of Superdrug. The reconfiguration will also see new escalators and new elevators, the removal of the Lower Central Arcade and the relocation of the toilets. But by far the biggest change will see the demolition of the old TJ Hughes store and Tesco to make way for the new 93,000 sq ft Debemhams Store over four floors, the opening of which will confirm the completion of the redevelopment in Autumn 2017.^[3]

Stores

Below are just a few of the many stores - as of October, 2016 the shopping centre contains; Bonmarché, Boots, Claire's Accessories, Flying Tiger Copenhagen, H&M, New Look, Starbucks, Superdrug, The Perfume Shop.

References

Sources

Sir Geoffrey Le Mesurier Mander (ed), The History of Mander Brothers (Wolverhampton, n.d. [1955])
C. Nicholas Mander, Varnished Leaves: a biography of the Mander Family of Wolverhampton, 1750-1950 (Owlpen Press, 2004)