#centurion-group — Public Fediverse posts

PARC TAWE: Ninja Warrior venue could be replaced by six padel courts under new plans

One of Swansea’s best-known family activity venues could be replaced by courts for one of the country’s fastest-growing racket sports.

Plans have been lodged to turn the Ninja Warrior UK Adventure Park at Parc Tawe into a six-court indoor padel facility, in a move that would end the obstacle-course attraction’s four-year run at the retail park.

The venue is the large unit shared with Aldi, on the site of the former Toys R Us, facing the car park at the southern end of the park.

The application, submitted to Swansea Council by Pure Padel Clubs Ltd, would see the ground floor turned into five doubles courts and one singles court, with a new mezzanine level, changing rooms, showers, a reception and a café.

Ninja Warrior’s parent company confirmed it is reviewing the venue’s future. Burhill Group Ltd, which also runs the Bunkers! crazy golf, darts and ping-pong venue off Wind Street, said it had been talking to a padel operator but had not reached a decision.

Chief operating officer Stephen Brown said the company had engaged a UK padel operator to explore potential future uses for the site, and that a planning application had been submitted to the council.

He added that no final decision had been made, that Ninja Warrior Swansea continues to operate as normal until further notice, and that the company’s immediate priority was keeping staff informed.

The centre opened to considerable fanfare in 2022, modelled on the Ninja Warrior UK television game show, with an array of obstacles, tunnels and towers. Co-host and football pundit Chris Kamara attended the launch and praised the course as “as good as it gets”.

Padel is a racket sport that blends elements of tennis and squash, played on an enclosed court roughly a third of the size of a tennis court and surrounded by walls of glass and metal mesh. It is recognised by the Lawn Tennis Association, which has ambitions to grow the game across Britain.

The sport is spreading quickly across Swansea. Earlier this year the council unveiled proposals that included padel courts along the foreshore between the marina and Blackpill, among a wider vision for the bay.

Pure Padel says it struggled to find anywhere else in Swansea big enough. Padel courts need a lot of floor space and a high ceiling, and after searching commercial property listings in late June the operator concluded there was nowhere closer to the city centre that fit — leaving the Parc Tawe unit, it says, as its best option.

The company, which says it runs sites across England and one in Scotland, wants Wales to be its next move, with hopes of opening 30 venues within five years. It says its courts elsewhere are busy more than 90 per cent of the time, and that an indoor home means play carries on whatever the weather.

It says it would run a junior programme at weekends and hold women-only sessions and sessions for older players, with coaches trained in Spain — the country where the sport took off.

Parc Tawe rose on the filled-in North Dock in the late 1980s and was given a £15m makeover a decade ago — the overhaul that brought the UK’s very first Denny’s, the American diner chain, to Swansea, alongside the Odeon cinema and bowling alley that anchor the park today. It is now owned by regeneration company Centurion Group, whose wider plans for the city include the former Debenhams store in the centre.

The council is expected to decide on the plans later this year. Until then, Ninja Warrior stays open.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Padel courts, zip wire and a year-round lido: Swansea’s big plans for the bay
The council’s vision for the foreshore between the marina and Blackpill.

Planning permission secured for drive-through restaurant at Parc Tawe
Another change at the Parc Tawe retail and leisure park.

New arrivals, fresh casualties and the tenants tipped to fill the former Debenhams
Where things stand with Centurion’s plans for Swansea retail.

SWANSEA: Beauty giant Charlotte Tilbury lands at the Quadrant on Friday — one of only two stores in Wales

One of the biggest names in beauty arrives in Swansea on Friday — and the city has landed one of only two stores in Wales.

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty makes its debut in 31 Boots stores nationwide on Friday 3 July, with the Quadrant Shopping Centre branch and Llantrisant’s Talbot Green store the only Welsh locations on the list.

Swansea shoppers are getting the full launch treatment: a red carpet for photos, free makeovers from Charlotte Tilbury artists at a “glow station”, and a “direct hotline” playing the founder’s personal beauty secrets.

There are prizes to be won on the day too, including a Charlotte Tilbury vanity case and tote bags.

The new dedicated counter will stock more than 500 products and shades, including the brand’s best-known lines — Magic Cream, Airbrush Flawless Finish and the Pillow Talk lipsticks.

Shoppers will also be able to book one-to-one sessions with Charlotte Tilbury artists, from wedding and occasion makeup to express facials, alongside Boots’ own beauty specialists.

The company says it is the UK’s biggest-selling prestige makeup brand, citing retail sales tracking data.

Founder Charlotte Tilbury said: “For years, I have received countless messages from people asking, ‘When is Charlotte Tilbury coming to Boots?’ Well, darlings, the wait is over – we are finally making your beauty dreams come true!”

Alice Rafferty, Boots’ director of luxury beauty and cosmetics, said customers had “long been asking” for the brand, and that the launch reflected a commitment to bringing sought-after names to more communities.

Research commissioned by the two companies suggests why the counters matter: three-quarters of shoppers say they buy beauty products in store after first spotting them online, and almost nine in ten value tailored advice when buying.

The arrival is a boost for a shopping centre that has spent the year at the centre of Swansea’s retail turbulence — its TGJones store remains one of seven in the region at risk under the chain’s restructuring.

And the new counter has a big story unfolding right next door: the Boots store sits beside the former Debenhams, the centre’s biggest empty unit, which was bought by Swansea Council after the chain’s collapse, stripped out and sold to the Quadrant’s owners Centurion Group.

Three major new tenants are expected to be confirmed for that unit, with speculation mounting over who will fill the former Debenhams ahead of Centurion’s announcement.

The Quadrant has been quietly collecting wins of its own — Skechers opened its first Swansea store there in December, and card retailer Cards Direct has arrived more recently.

The wider city centre has momentum too: just last week, hundreds queued from 7.30am as Søstrene Grene opened on Princess Way — the Danish brand’s busiest UK launch to date.

It has not all been good news, with the city still absorbing the closure of its flagship Marks & Spencer on Oxford Street in May.

But a global beauty brand choosing Swansea over every other Welsh city bar one is a vote of confidence in the Quadrant’s pulling power.

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty launches at Boots, the Quadrant, on Friday 3 July, with the full list of stockists on the Boots website.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

New arrivals, fresh casualties — and the tenants tipped to fill the former Debenhams
The story unfolding next door to Boots as Centurion’s big reveal nears.

Queues from 7:30am as Søstrene Grene opens — the Danish brand’s busiest UK launch yet
Hundreds lined Castle Square for the city centre’s newest arrival last week.

Seven south-west Wales TGJones stores at risk as chain announces 150 closures
The Quadrant branch among those waiting to learn their fate.

Landlords revolt and bailiffs reclaim a Midlands store as TGJones battle turns bitter
How the Quadrant’s owner Centurion holds the keys to the store’s future.

Shoe Zone is closing stores across the UK — what it means for local shops
The wider squeeze on south-west Wales high streets.

TGJONES: Rescue plan approved — seven south-west Wales stores now wait on landlord rent deals as up to 150 closures loom

The rescue plan that could close up to 150 TGJones stores has been approved by the High Court — leaving seven south-west Wales branches waiting to learn their fate.

Branches at Swansea’s Quadrant Shopping Centre, Carmarthen’s Guildhall Square, Llanelli, Neath, Bridgend, Tenby and Haverfordwest were all named as potentially at risk when the closures were announced in May.

None of the seven has been confirmed for closure — and each store’s future now hinges largely on its landlord. Under the approved plan, rents will be cut by between 15% and 75% on hundreds of stores, while around 120 landlords will receive no rent at all for up to three years.

Landlords who refuse the new terms can end their leases instead — and that is where most of the closures are expected to fall.

In Swansea, that puts the decision in the hands of Centurion Group — the Quadrant’s owner, which is separately preparing to name new tenants for the former Debenhams in the city.

Mr Justice Hildyard approved the plan on Wednesday (1 July), describing it as complex and far-reaching. He said his biggest concern had been the financial hit to landlords, but he was persuaded the rescue was, objectively, the lesser of two evils.

The approval caps a turbulent few weeks in which landlords revolted over the plan and bailiffs reclaimed a Midlands store. Property giant British Land had branded the proposals fundamentally unfair, before dropping its opposition after winning concessions.

The court heard the retailer was on the brink of insolvency, facing a cash shortfall of nearly £8 million within days if the deal was not approved.

Tom Smith KC, for TGJones, told the hearing the business was “highly distressed” and “running on fumes at the moment”.

He said the chain would have run out of cash in April, had it not been for a £10 million loan from owner Modella Capital and the deferral of liabilities — including the £8.4 million owed to HMRC revealed in creditor documents in May.

The approved plan brings a further £15 million loan from Modella, alongside the rent cuts and redundancies across stores and the company’s support centre.

Up to 150 of the chain’s 451 stores are expected to close, with the plan forecasting the business will be left with around 302 — depending on how many landlords walk away rather than accept lower rents.

The chain employs 4,700 people, and hundreds of jobs are expected to go, though no redundancy figure has been confirmed. WH Smith has already refused to fund enhanced redundancy payments for staff who lose their jobs — leaving those affected facing the statutory minimum.

The stakes reach beyond the shops themselves: the Quadrant, Neath and Carmarthen branches all host Post Office counters, a threat that prompted the Deputy First Minister to write to the chain over the Neath branch in May.

The Post Office and Toys R Us, which runs concessions inside some stores, both supported the restructuring in court.

Modella — which rebranded the stores from WHSmith after buying the high street business last year — admitted last month the retailer was almost completely broken, blaming years of under-investment by the previous owner and the loss of the 234-year-old name, which was a condition of the sale.

Chief executive Alex Willson welcomed the ruling, saying: “This decision allows us to move ahead with our turnaround strategy.”

Wales has 26 of the chain’s stores, and the south-west Wales branches anchor some of the most prominent pitches on their high streets — the entrance to the Quadrant in Swansea and Guildhall Square in Carmarthen among them.

The wait comes with the region’s high streets already under pressure — Llanelli, Neath and Swansea are among the towns watching Shoe Zone review its local stores, and Swansea’s flagship M&S closed in May.

WHSmith itself lives on at airports and railway stations, where the travel stores kept the historic name.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Seven south-west Wales stores at risk as chain announces 150 closures
The full list of at-risk branches across the region, from Swansea’s Quadrant to Haverfordwest.

Bailiff threat and tax debts cast fresh doubt over south-west Wales stores
TGJones owes £8.4m to HMRC as WH Smith refuses to fund enhanced redundancy for at-risk staff.

Deputy First Minister raises alarm over Neath Post Office threat
Sioned Williams MS wrote to TGJones over the Post Office counter hosted in the at-risk Neath branch.

Landlords revolt and bailiffs reclaim a Midlands store
How the restructuring battle turned bitter in the weeks before the court ruling.

TGJONES: Landlords revolt and bailiffs reclaim a Midlands store — as seven south-west Wales branches still hang in the balance

The former WHSmith chain, rebranded as TGJones after its high-street arm was sold last year, is trying to push through a major restructuring that would close more than 100 stores and slash rents — and the past few weeks have seen the dispute turn increasingly bitter.

The plan matters locally because seven branches across south-west Wales were named as potentially at risk when the closures were announced, including the stores in Swansea’s Quadrant, Carmarthen, Llanelli, Neath and Bridgend.

None of those local stores has been confirmed for closure, and the wider plan still requires court approval — but the turmoil engulfing the chain has intensified on several fronts.

In Great Malvern, Worcestershire, landlords sent in bailiffs to reclaim a store this week. A notice displayed on the shuttered shop said the locks had been changed and the lease terminated, with any goods inside to be collected by arrangement before the end of June.

It followed the news that a group of major landlords had declared the terms of the restructuring “unacceptable”.

British Land — one of Britain’s biggest commercial property groups — told Sky News the plan was “fundamentally unfair”, arguing it would impose steep rent cuts even on profitable stores. It has instructed law firm Hogan Lovells to challenge the proposals, and has been joined in objecting by fellow landlords Landsec, M&G and NewRiver REIT.

The landlords’ challenge centres on proposals under which more than 120 of the chain’s 451 stores would pay no rent for three years, while others would see rent cut by between 15% and 75%.

Owner Modella Capital, the private equity firm that bought the high-street business for a cut-price £42m, has warned the retailer could run out of cash unless property owners agree to significant concessions.

A TGJones spokesperson said the company was aware of concerns raised by a “small number of landlords”, insisted the plan was “designed to be fair to all stakeholders”, and said the terms would leave landlords “no worse off than the alternative”. The firm said Modella was making more than £35m of financial contributions to support the restructuring.

Modella has blamed the loss of the 234-year-old WHSmith name for many of the chain’s difficulties.

Against that backdrop, the chain’s new chief executive Alex Willson — who previously ran Hobbycraft after Modella bought it — used social media to set out an eight-point plan to turn the business around.

The measures include lowering shop fittings to open up sightlines, brightening stores with new lighting and repairs, cutting prices now the chain is no longer tied to WHSmith’s airport and rail pricing, and reintroducing store managers to its biggest branches — which, he revealed, currently have none, with some area managers each responsible for as many as 75 stores.

He also promised to let local teams choose products suited to their communities, and to expand partnerships with the Post Office, Toys R Us and Hobbycraft once the restructuring is complete — though he conceded “there will be some store closures along the way”.

It is the Post Office presence in many branches that has driven much of the local concern. As many as 60 of the chain’s Post Office counters are reported to be under threat nationally.

In Neath, Sioned Williams MS — now Wales’s Deputy First Minister — wrote to TGJones demanding answers over which stores face closure, warning that losing the Neath branch would cut off vital services for older residents and those with limited mobility.

The uncertainty also comes amid earlier revelations that the chain owed millions in unpaid taxes, and that former owner WH Smith had refused to fund enhanced redundancy payments for staff facing the axe.

In Swansea, the Quadrant store’s landlord is Centurion Group, which is separately preparing to name new tenants for the former Debenhams in the city.

Modella has presided over the insolvencies of Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop in recent months, and has this week launched a separate restructuring affecting Wynsors World of Shoes.

For now, the seven south-west Wales TGJones branches remain open and trading, with their longer-term future tied to the outcome of the restructuring battle playing out in the courts.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Seven south-west Wales stores at risk as chain announces 150 closures
The Swansea Quadrant, Carmarthen, Llanelli, Neath and Bridgend branches were all named as potentially affected.

Deputy First Minister raises alarm over Neath Post Office threat
Sioned Williams MS wrote to TGJones warning of the impact of losing the Neath branch.

Bailiff threat and tax debts cast fresh doubt over local stores
The chain owes millions in unpaid taxes, while WH Smith refused to fund redundancy payments.

SWANSEA: New arrivals, fresh casualties — and the tenants tipped to fill the former Debenhams as Centurion’s big reveal nears

The biggest single retail announcement Swansea has seen for at least a decade is now days away. Centurion Group, which bought the former Debenhams building from the council at the start of May, has confirmed it has three major tenants lined up — two national retailers and a national sports and leisure operator.

The names remain officially under wraps. But the speculation has not stopped, the rumour mill has not slowed, and with Marks and Spencer’s Oxford Street store closing for the last time on 30 May, the Swansea retail picture is shifting week by week.

So with the big Centurion announcement imminent, we thought it was time to take stock. Last summer we ran a major feature on the future of retail in the city, canvassing the brands readers most wanted to see. Ten months on, where do things actually stand?

The wins — names that actually came

Several of the brands readers told us they wanted in Swansea have arrived since the feature went out.

Boyes, the family-run department store, had told us last summer it had “no confirmed plans” but was “actively exploring new locations.” In December 2025, Boyes and Skechers opened on the same day — Boyes taking over the former Wilko unit on Singleton Street, Skechers opening in the Quadrant. Two confirmed wishlist arrivals on a single morning.

In the Quadrant itself, Centurion’s stewardship has delivered two further significant additions. Holland and Barrett opened a new flagship in September 2025, more than three times the size of its previous unit. The same month, Rituals — the Dutch wellness brand — opened its first Swansea store in the centre. Clogau also tripled the size of its existing Quadrant store.

And in April this year Sostrene Grene, the Danish lifestyle brand, confirmed it would open in the former Zara unit on Princess Way, taking on a large vacant space that had been empty since Zara departed at the end of 2024.

Five named arrivals in ten months. Not bad for a city centre many had written off.

Centurion’s track record

The reason for some of the confidence around the Debenhams announcement is that Centurion is no longer an unknown quantity in Swansea. The company has been steadily transforming Parc Tawe — the retail park sitting close to the city centre at the foot of Castle Square — from a half-empty, dated space into a vibrant semi-out-of-town destination, served by its own car parking but also within easy walking distance of the city centre via the Castle area.

That track record matters. When Centurion took on the Quadrant, it brought in Holland and Barrett’s flagship, Rituals, Skechers and Clogau’s expansion. The Debenhams deal extends that pattern from leasing existing units to bringing a new anchor back into the city’s most prominent vacant building.

The losses — names under pressure

But the same period has also seen the picture darken in places. The biggest blow has been the confirmed closure of M&S — 69 years of Oxford Street history disappearing on 30 May, with 92 staff facing uncertainty. Council leader Rob Stewart has said the council is in active talks with M&S about a return to the city in a different format.

TGJones — the rebranded high-street WHSmith network — is in serious trouble. Multiple south-west Wales stores including the Swansea branch face fresh closure questions following revelations of bailiff threats, unpaid taxes, and a refusal by WH Smith to fund enhanced redundancy payments for affected staff. The Swansea store is one of several with an attached Post Office counter whose future has now been put under formal scrutiny.

River Island, confirmed in our 2025 feature as one of the city’s anchor fashion retailers, has been part of a national rescue plan that has put its Swansea store under pressure. The chain has been negotiating rent reductions and a programme of closures.

And Shoe Zone has confirmed it is closing stores across the UK — with the Swansea branch subject to review as the discount footwear chain reports its biggest losses in years.

The big question — what fills Debenhams

That brings us back to the question on every Swansea shopper’s lips: who is Centurion about to name?

The company has been clear that it has lined up three tenants — two retailers and a national sports and leisure operator. Rob Stewart’s “sports and leisure” framing rules out the more obvious pure-leisure operators like Lane7 or Boom Battle Bar and points instead towards something more activity-focused — operators in that space include the likes of TopGolf, Padel Up, Tenpin, Hollywood Bowl, or perhaps something more bespoke.

On the retail side, the names that have been circulating for some time include TK Maxx and H&M. Neither has been confirmed by Centurion. Neither has been confirmed by us. But both names have repeatedly been mentioned in conversations around the city, and both would fit the kind of large-format, footfall-driving anchor brand the building was designed to house.

If TK Maxx is one of the names, it would be a wishlist arrival — the discount fashion chain came up again and again in reader feedback last summer.

The H&M scenario is slightly different. H&M is already in Swansea, occupying a substantial unit on Oxford Street. A move to the former Debenhams would be a relocation rather than a new arrival — and it would leave another major hole on a street already due to lose M&S on 30 May. The implications for Oxford Street, if the H&M speculation proves correct, would be significant.

These remain rumours. Centurion will confirm — or deny — within days.

The M&S question that won’t go away

There is one further name worth flagging. M&S has been clear it would like to maintain a Swansea presence but needs the right footprint, the right adjacencies, and crucially direct access to parking. As it happens, the former Debenhams building sits directly adjacent to the Quadrant Shopping Centre — which Centurion also owns. The Quadrant car park has its own dedicated entrance directly into the back of the Debenhams unit.

That is unlikely to be relevant to the three names Centurion is about to announce. But it may well be relevant to what happens to the Quadrant in 12 or 18 months’ time — particularly given the council’s continued conversations with M&S about a return to the city.

What this all adds up to

Swansea retail in May 2026 is more dynamic than it has been in years. Five confirmed wishlist arrivals since last summer. A major Debenhams letting imminent. Several existing chains under pressure or actively closing. Continued investment from Centurion, Swansea Council and private operators.

The next ten days will tell us a great deal about what comes next.

Swansea Bay News will publish the Debenhams tenant names the moment they are confirmed.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Swansea Debenhams building sold to Quadrant owners as three major new tenants set to be named within days
The Centurion deal that set up the imminent tenant announcement.

The future of retail in Swansea: the shops you want, the brands we asked, and what comes next
Our 2025 feature canvassing 20+ retailers about Swansea expansion.

Two big names, one big day: Skechers and Boyes land in Swansea
Two retailers from the wishlist arrived together in December 2025.

M&S store confirms May 30 closure date as council leader hints at Debenhams news
The end of a 69-year Oxford Street presence.

SWANSEA: Debenhams building sold to Quadrant owners as three major new tenants set to be named ‘within days’

Swansea’s long-vacant former Debenhams building has been sold by the council to Centurion – the company that already owns and operates the Quadrant Shopping Centre and Parc Tawe – in a deal that paves the way for three major new tenants to move in before the end of 2026.

The sale clears the way for two major national retailers and a national leisure operator to be confirmed as tenants of the three-storey building, which has stood empty since Debenhams went into liquidation in 2021. Council leader Rob Stewart said the names of the companies would be announced “within the coming days.”

A spokesperson for the council leader confirmed the sale price is commercially confidential, but said it represents a saving compared to projected costs. The deal also means Centurion will take on the cost of fitting out the building — saving the council taxpayers the expense of that phase too.

The council had already completed the strip-out of the building, which was purchased for approximately 2.85 million pounds using Welsh Government Transforming Towns funding in 2023 and hollowed back to bare concrete by contractor Andrew Scott Ltd.

Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart described it as big news for the city. “Shoppers want choice. Today’s news at the former Debenhams delivers exactly that – a major national retailer, a sports and leisure centre, dozens of new jobs, and a renewed reason for families to spend their day in our city centre,” he said.

He added that the sale to Centurion represented a significant step forward for Swansea’s wider regeneration. “New offices are opening across the city. The Swansea Bay Metro will make getting in and out of Swansea easier than ever. Swansea Council has delivered record investment over the past 12 years. We will continue to invest, back our city, and make Swansea a place everyone wants to be.”

Stewart also addressed the M&S closure announced this week, expressing disappointment that the retailer had not given the city time to find a new site before closing its doors. “It is hugely disappointing that Marks and Spencer have decided to close their Swansea store at the end of May. Our first thoughts are with the 92 staff facing uncertainty,” he said. “We are working with M&S leadership to bring a full-line store back to the city, and that is what we will keep pressing for.”

Jane Rice of Centurion confirmed the deal had been signed the previous day and that tenant names were imminent. “We are so excited to be able to announce that we are now the proud owners of Debenhams and we have three major tenants lined up which we can’t announce just yet but it’s so exciting and we just can’t wait,” she said.

She added that the new tenants would transform the shopping experience in the Quadrant. “For every shopper that now enters the Quadrant, as and when all the stores are up and running, it will be a full experience — many different retailers on site, a complete experience, all that Christmas shopping, one-stop shop.”

Rice said Centurion had identified Swansea’s potential early. “We’ve recognised some time ago that Swansea is on the rise. There is billions of pounds of investment being poured into the city centre and we want to be part of that. This sort of demonstrates our commitment to help seeing that come to fruition.”

Adam Gibbons of Centurion added that the company had committed to Swansea for the long term. “We recognise early on that there is a lot of potential in Swansea city centre and this sort of demonstrates our commitment to help seeing that come to fruition,” he said.

The sale also clears the way for Centurion to move forward with wider investment and regeneration plans for the rest of the Quadrant – the shopping centre they have been steadily revitalising since taking over its ownership. Recent arrivals under Centurion’s stewardship have included a Holland and Barrett flagship store and a new Rituals outlet.

Debenhams opened as the flagship anchor of the Quadrant when it was first built in 1978-79, marking what was then a golden era for Swansea retail. Its closure in 2021 after the 242-year-old brand went into national liquidation left a three-storey void at the heart of the city’s main shopping centre.

The council’s purchase of the building in 2023 and the subsequent strip-out – which saw dramatic internal transformation photos emerge earlier this year – signalled the start of a new chapter for the site. Today’s sale to Centurion confirms that chapter is now ready to begin in earnest.

The announcement comes as Swansea city centre continues a broader retail revival, with over 120 new retailers, hospitality and leisure businesses having opened since 2020 and more than 1 billion pounds of regeneration investment underway across the city.

Centurion are keen to see the new stores open before the end of 2026. The names of the three tenants are expected to be confirmed within the coming days.

Swansea Bay News will bring you the full tenant announcement the moment it is made.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

SWANSEA: Flagship M&S store confirms May 30 closure date as council leader hints at Debenhams news
Yesterday’s M&S closure confirmation – and the tease that led to today’s announcement.

Inside Swansea’s old Debenhams: photos show dramatic transformation as revamp gathers pace
The dramatic strip-out of the Quadrant unit earlier this year.

Council buys former Swansea Debenhams store
How the council took ownership of the building in the first place.

Swansea-based retail entrepreneurs buy Quadrant Shopping Centre
The Centurion Group’s takeover of the Quadrant.

The future of retail in Swansea: the shops you want, the brands we asked, and what comes next
Our feature on Swansea’s retail revival.

Holland & Barrett opens new flagship store in Swansea’s Quadrant Shopping Centre
One of the recent Quadrant arrivals under Centurion’s ownership.

Swansea’s Quadrant rolls out sensory packs for shoppers

Packs to calm the chaos of shopping

The busy city centre shopping centre has introduced Sensory Packs containing noise‑reducing headphones, fidget tools and calming aids to help visitors who struggle with sensory overwhelm, anxiety or stress in crowded spaces.

The packs are available on request from the security team and are designed to make shopping trips less daunting for families and individuals who might otherwise avoid the Quadrant.

The centre has also signed up to the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme, meaning shoppers wearing the sunflower lanyard can discreetly signal they may need extra support.

Training to tackle hidden barriers

Centurion, who own the Quadrant, say every front‑of‑house worker has now undergone specialist training with Wales‑based diversity experts Delsion, giving them the confidence to support neurodivergent customers and those with non‑visible disabilities.

The move comes against a stark backdrop. Research shows that three‑quarters of disabled shoppers have walked out of a store because of poor accessibility or service, while seven in ten never return after a negative experience. Campaigners say this underlines the importance of centres making visits easier and more spontaneous, without the need for detailed planning.

Adam Gibbons, Property Director at Centurion, said:

“Making sure our shoppers feel supported, understood, and genuinely welcomed is central to who we are. By equipping all our front‑of‑house team with disability inclusion training and introducing Sensory Packs, we are taking meaningful action to improve the experience of neurodivergent customers.”

“Positive example” for UK centres

Julian John, CEO of Delsion, added:

“It’s essential that shopping centres take proactive steps towards neurodiversity inclusion, especially as many neurodivergent needs are not immediately visible. The Quadrant is setting a positive example for centres across the UK.”

How to get a pack

Shoppers can request a Sensory Pack by approaching a security team member or visiting the control room on the first floor, near the lift and customer toilets.

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