Capital & Regional and Drum Property Group have secured a 12-screen Empire cinema to anchor their redeveloped Buttermarket shopping centre in Ipswich, Suffolk.
The cinema will be central to the £35m overhaul, which will include a new 20,000 sq ft gym, to be operated by Pure Gym, and nine new restaurants.
Four of the restaurants are now under offer, with the remainder still available.
The joint venture developers have also secured several deals with existing tenants, including New Look, which will soon open a new flagship 14,000 sq ft shop fronting the centre.
TK Maxx has agreed to relocate its shop to a more prominent ground-floor unit.
C&R and Drum bought the mall in March for £9.2m and in June secured consent to redevelop the 250,000 sq ft centre.
Hugh Scott-Barrett, chief executive at Capital & Regional, said: “Town centres are changing and our ‘beyond retail’ strategy speaks to the need for a compelling leisure and food and beverage mix alongside a diverse retail offer.”
