The former Federation Brewery site in Gateshead is set to be transformed into a new leisure attraction after being bought by new owners.
The Metrocentre Partnership has bought the former brewery base in Gateshead, which sits right next door to its shopping and leisure complex and has lain empty for the last 12 years, ever since Heineken ceased operations, to switch production to Yorkshire. Now a new development is poised to take shape at the 12.9 acre plot, as the Metrocentre owners seek to create a leisure offering to complement its neighbouring retail property.
The deal comes three years after former owners Intu revealed it was looking at possible redevelopment of the old brewery, which was the new home of Newcastle Brown Ale for five years before the brewing operation transferred to Tadcaster. Intu became one of the most significant corporate casualties of the Covid-19 crisis when it collapsed into administration in 2020.
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Yet the company had spent several years exploring how it could develop the brewery site and hundreds of acres of other vacant land in its possession, potentially creating hotels, offices and even rented housing.
Intu had bought the site in a £3m deal in September 2012, more than a year after it had been put up for sale by Heineken UK, but was yet to put plans into action when it fell into administration.
The Metrocentre Partnership, advised by its asset manager Sovereign Centros, said it had acquired the former brewery site from KPMG, the administrators acting on behalf of Intu following its collapse.
The site was marketed by Savills in mid-2021 and was subject to a two-phase bidding process. The price paid was undisclosed.
A statement issued by the partnership said: “The site forms an integral part of the wider Masterplan for Metrocentre and is a key site within Gateshead Council’s Action Area Plan.
“Its acquisition will provide the opportunity for the introduction of a variety of non-retail uses particularly leisure which will allow the Partnership to introduce big scale regional attractions. Other uses including business, commerce and residential will also be outlined for the future as the centre continues to expand its influence on the area.”
Meanwhile, the Metrocentre has announced that phase two of its solar panel project is under way, with installation expected to be completed by December. The second phase of the development, which aims to ensure a more sustainable future for Metrocentre, sees the installation of solar pv car ports and 46 new EV charging ports in the Green and Blue Mall car parks. It follows the installation of solar pv rooftop panels covering an area equivalent in size to 88 tennis courts.
Ben Cox of Sovereign Centros, senior asset manager for Metrocentre, said: “This is a really important milestone for us as we head into the next phase of our solar panel project with Syzygy. “A solar panel and car port installation of this size has never been seen before in a UK shopping centre and upon completion of the project later this year, Metrocentre will have the largest solar panel installation of any UK shopping centre.”
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