Grosvenor’s Grand Arcade centre in Cambridge opened its doors yesterday, with a string of tenants joining at the last minute including Swedish children’s clothing retailer Polarn O Pyret, Laura Ashley and art retailer Castle Galleries.

Only 31 of the centre’s 52 units are trading, but deals have been signed on a further seven and Grosvenor expects them to begin fitting out soon. Six more deals are in solicitors’ hands, with the remaining eight units unfilled.

The 450,000 sq ft (41,805 sq m) centre is anchored by a 255,000 sq ft (23,690 sq m) John Lewis that has been trading since November last year. In the run-up to the opening of Grand Arcade, the department store retailer had to recruit an additional 100 employees to cope with the increase in trade.

Grand Arcade is also home to retailers including Jane Norman, Hugo Boss, River Island, All Saints, and G-Star.

Joint agents for Grosvenor are Jones Lang LaSalle and Savills. Savills partner Nick Symons said: “We’ve achieved what we set out to do, which was to get a good tenant mix that plugged the gap in the city and satisfy the affluence of the catchment.

“We’ve arguably got the best anchor in the country in John Lewis, and lots of funky fashion brands and big-name retailers that are new to Cambridge.”

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