Historic shopping destination boasts strong post-pandemic recovery

A much-loved historical shopping destination is bucking national trends, seeing a rise in footfall and achieving close to full occupation of its retail units for the first time in ten years.

Morgan Quarter, comprising units in Morgan Arcade, Royal Arcade, and The Hayes in Cardiff city centre, has an occupancy rate of 98.5% as of November 2024, with only one of its 65 units currently advertised to let.

The achievement demonstrates a strong post-pandemic recovery since the 2020/21, when economic pressures saw occupancy drop to 77% with 15 unoccupied units as businesses battled lockdown measures and a fall in consumer spending.

Milestone

The milestone was met following the opening of activewear brand Sweaty Betty’s first permanent store in Wales in The Hayes at the end of October.

The recent addition of other globally recognised brands such as Lucy & Yak and Bird & Blend Tea Co. has led to the Morgan Quarter becoming one of the capital’s most popular shopping destinations, with more than 100,000 people passing through the arcades every week.

At the same time, established independent stores like Spillers and Wally’s, as well as recent additions like Secrets of Wales, who sell the very best Welsh produce, continue to make the Morgan Quarter a unique shopping experience.

The recovery goes against national trends, with 38 shops closing every day in the UK according to a recent report from accountancy firm PwC, and places Morgan Quarter in a strong position ahead of the Christmas shopping season.

Figures from the Welsh Retail Consortium show that retail footfall in Wales was up 0.4% year-on-year in October. In September, it was up 5.4% on the corresponding month in 2023.

For the UK as a whole, footfall was down 1.1% year-on-year in October.

Iconic location

Samantha Provis, Sweaty Betty Cardiff manager, said: “We’re so proud to be the first Sweaty Betty store in Wales, and to take one of the last available units in an iconic location like the Morgan Quarter.

“We’ve been waiting for the right time and space to bring Sweaty Betty to Cardiff and the Morgan Quarter is the perfect location for us, being so central within the city and bringing a real community of businesses together.

Samantha added: “Times are tough for businesses across the UK right now, as we all know, and it’s great to have the support of our neighbours and the Morgan Quarter – we all want to see each other thrive.”

Marika Jones, centre manager at Morgan Quarter said: “We are delighted to see a wide range of stores choosing to open in the Morgan Quarter – from smaller independent businesses to huge global brands like Sweaty Betty.

“There is a real sense of community among the businesses here. Everyone wishes success on each other to encourage people into these special arcades.”

The Morgan Quarter is open seven days a week between 7am-7pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-5pm on Sunday.