It’s been over a year since Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) announced seven new stores would be opening at Croydon’s Centrale and Whitgift shopping centres.
In July 2024, URW confirmed the signing of several new leases in the town centre, including stores such as Adara Beauty, Dressmode, Maflora, Pinball Republic, Rebel Clothing, Stacks, and an expansion from local fashion entrepreneur Flora Lyimo.
As of August 2025, only two of the seven stores — Adara Beauty and Stacks — have opened their doors.
The other five retailers announced have yet to launch, with no confirmed opening dates.
The delayed openings come after ongoing regeneration efforts in Croydon, where long-term redevelopment of the shopping centres has faced repeated delays.
URW, which owns a large portion of Croydon’s town centre, has previously pledged to transform the area into a modern retail and leisure destination, though no updated timeline has been provided for the remaining store openings.
At the time of the announcement, Kate Orwin, Leasing Director UK at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield said: “We have such a wide variety of retailers and occupiers at the Centrale & Whitgift centres from major global brands to local, independents, and today’s news is a testament to ongoing confidence in Croydon as a retail destination.
“We aim to provide our customers and local community with a diverse shopping experience, and we are delighted to bring new brands including Dressmode and Adara Beauty to Croydon as well as long-term favourites such as House of Fraser, Sports Direct and Starbucks.”
The long-anticipated regeneration of Croydon town centre, which includes the redevelopment of the Centrale and Whitgift sites, has seen repeated delays over the past decade.
Last month, Croydon Council strongly denied rumours that URW had abandoned plans to regenerate both shopping centres, describing such claims as “not accurate”.
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon, said: “The regeneration of Croydon town centre remains a top priority for me, and I have been working with a range of external partners to drive forward my Town Centre Vision and Growth Plan for the borough.
“Our partnership with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is fundamental to the town centre regeneration and they have given assurances that recent speculation around the sale of Whitgift and Centrale shopping centres is not accurate.”
At a meeting held by the Mayor in May 2025, Penny Cameron, Head of Development at URW, said: “Between Whitgift and Centrale, there’s an awful lot going on in the background, but hopefully over the coming six months, there will be a lot more for the people of Croydon to see on the ground and in the future.”
