Allied takes Barkworth from Arndale to Avenue

Allied London has appointed former Arndale manager Glen Barkworth as a consultant to advise on retail and leisure space in its Spinningfields estate in Manchester.

Barkworth spent 11 years as centre manager of the Arndale, the city's biggest shopping centre, owned by Capital Shopping Centres and Prupim.

Allied has asked him to look at "the running, marketing, PR and commercialisation of Spinningfields, with a specific focus initially on the Avenue, and then to other areas such as Left Bank [riverside restaurant strip]."

The 30,000 sq ft Avenue North between Bridge Street and the heart of Spinningfields completed recently but is yet to attract its first tenant.

Barkworth said: "Spinningfields has become one of Manchester's most vibrant districts over the last few years. There is a fantastic retail offering on The Avenue and we will be concentrating on maximising footfall for The Avenue, The Avenue North and the estate as a whole.

"With the Oast House at one end of the Avenue and Australasia and Peppermint Bay at the other, Spinningfields has created a new shopping and leisure destination and we're confident we can attract a host of new leisure and retailer operators to the Avenue North. We will also be looking to build on the success of Spinningfields' existing event strategy with further relevant pillar events in the coming months."

Mike Ingall, chief executive of Allied London, said: "Glen's retail experience in Manchester is second to none and I'm delighted he has come on board as a consultant. Now that we have all the stores on the Avenue open, our focus is on driving awareness of the offering we have, developing our offer much further to achieve our vision, as well as attracting a new leisure and retail mix to the Avenue North."

David Allinson has been recruited to replace barkworth at the Arndale centre. Allinson joins from Golden Square, Lend Lease's centre in Warrington.