Brands snap up space at Cotswolds Designer Outlet opening July 2025

As the countdown commences to Cotswolds Designer Outlet’s grand opening, a string of new lettings has been announced with over 133,600 sq ft of space either exchanged or in solicitors’ hands, which will bring the scheme to 98 percent let on opening.

Global fashion label BOSS takes 4,126 sq ft, leading a stellar line-up of fashion, athleisure, beauty, homewares and dining brands that include Marks & Spencer, Adidas and Levi’s, which have secured stores of 7,845 sq ft, 8,474sft and 4,455 sq ft respectively.

The unprecedented leasing activity represents a major vote of confidence in the UK outlet market and highlights the continued attractiveness of the sector amongst occupiers.

Regional developer and investor Robert Hitchins and Multi-Realm, the specialist manager of retail and leisure destinations, have been responsible for successfully delivering the line-up of Phase 1. The location just off Junction 9 of the M5, right on Tewkesbury’s doorstep, equidistant from Bristol and Birmingham and within easy reach of affluent towns and surrounding Cotswolds villages, is especially appealing to brands seeking access to a significant regional and tourist catchment as part of their brand positioning for the UK market.

Cotswolds Designer Outlet is one part of a long-term holistic vision for the area to deliver a huge injection of investment for the region, centred on the curation of a new place and community with circa 260,000 sq ft of retail, F&B and leisure space being delivered through Cotswolds Designer Outlet and the Dobbies Garden Centre.

True to its setting at the gateway to the Cotswolds, the scheme has been carefully designed and inspired by classic Cotswolds architecture and materials and will also incorporate a wildflower meadow and other indigenous planting and landscaping to bed the development into its new home. Dog-friendly shopping and a specific focus on wellbeing will be central to its operation, with plans for ‘motorway-pause’ walking routes, chill out seating areas and space set aside for children’s play.

This combination of factors has led to the extraordinary pre-letting status of Phase 1 of the Cotswolds Designer Outlet, as the only major new retail development in the UK this year will be 98 percent let ahead of opening.

To date, 110,000 sq ft of Phase 1 has been committed by 44 brands with more brands to be announced soon.

With the success of the Phase 1 letting established, Robert Hitchins and Multi-Realm are expecting to bring forward Phase 2 of Cotswolds Designer Outlet earlier than originally anticipated, which will extend the outlet provision by a further circa 50,000 sq ft.

Occupying a prominent position at the entrance to the Cotswolds Designer Outlet site is a Dobbie’s Garden Centre which opened in 2022 and includes a Little Seedlings soft play area for children and a 10,000 sq ft restaurant. Meanwhile, Persimmon, Charles Church, Barratt Homes and Vistry are currently delivering more than 1,500 new homes and associated community spaces within the 250-acre development site put together by Robert Hitchins, having secured the necessary planning permissions and invested and procured significant infrastructure and connectivity works completed in advance.

Simon Tothill, Property & Development Director at Robert Hitchins Ltd said: “We have curated the line-up of Cotswolds Designer Outlet to offer the best of British and international fashion brands as well as other popular homewares, leisure and lifestyle names, in a classic Cotswolds setting with an elevated customer-focused environment. To launch a new retail scheme that is nearly fully let is a real message of confidence from retail brands who can see the huge potential for a fresh, modern outlet retail destination that sets a new bar for the industry.

Our ambitions were bold, but we had faith in the demand for a high-quality destination in this location, which is accessible to such an extensive catchment, and able to draw shoppers from across the region and tourists visiting the area from across the globe.”

Christine Grace, Leasing Director at outlet specialist Multi-Realm adds: “To deliver an almost fully let retail destination of this scale three months ahead of completion is testament to the appeal of the Cotswold Designer Outlet and to the vision and commitment of the team working on this project. Together with Robert Hitchins we have worked hard to create a perfect blend of leading names, bringing the very best global labels and brands to the scheme.

This announcement demonstrates that there remains strong demand amongst occupiers for high quality sites in convenient locations and highlights the ongoing attractiveness of the outlet sector amongst brands and investors. The success of this scheme proves that there remains a bright future for physical retail, but only if you curate an attractive and compelling space and have the relationships and data-driven approach needed to sign up global brands.”

Multi-Realm has been leading on the leasing activity at the designer outlet and will manage and operate the asset once it is completed.