New Ownership For Wrexham’s Henblas Square Development

A long-standing vacant retail development in the heart of the town centre is now under new ownership.

Henblas Square, which was once home to big name retailers such as TJ Hughes, Bhs and The Entertainer, was developed back in the late 90s/early 00s.

At the time of being built, Henblas Square was seen as a landmark development for the town centre. But over the years the big high street retailers which previously occupied the retail units have gradually left the area.

The first major blow to the shopping area was the loss of TJ Hughes in 2011, which many saw as a link between the town centre and Chester Street and the People’s Market.

Shops such as Bodycare, The Entertainer and the Post Office have all relocated elsewhere in the town – with other retailers such as Internationale and Bhs entering into administration.

The empty units have been seen as an eyesore in the town centre and also one of the causes of the drop in footfall around that area. Over the past few months there have been a number of debates both on social media and in Town Centre Forum meetings about potential usage for the site.

Recently rumours have been circulating over the future ownership of the block for several months, with indications from town centre representatives that a deal was close to being finalised.

Earlier this week during a debate about Wrexham’s indoor markets, business lead at Wrexham Council Becky Morgan confirmed that Manchester based MCR Property Group now had the ownership of Henblas Square.

The company describes itself on its website as a ‘real estate investment and development company focused on the strategic acquisition and repositioning of commercial, residential and industrial and retail assets across the UK’.

A quick nose through the company’s website shows it is currently involved with the redevelopment of a number of vacant office and retail space across the country – including the conversion and partial redevelopment of properties into apartments and / or mixed usage with some retail space.

Welcoming the news the Henblas Street development has been sold, Cllr Terry Evans, Lead Member for Economic Performance and Regeneration, said: “The sale has been completed with the MCR Property Group.

“This is, of course, excellent news to the town centre and we hope to see the site back in use as soon as possible.”

Confirmed in public for the first time that Henblas Square (ex-BHS block) has formally changed hands, and has new owners!

— Wrexham.com (@wrexham) July 18, 2017