Since buying the property in 1995 CSC has substantially extended and renovated the MetroCentre to provide over 330 shops and attractions, anchored by Debenhams, House of Fraser and Marks & Spencer. As a result, the MetroCentre is drawing an estimated 24 million visitors every year. The centre's current leisure attractions include an 11-screen cinema, the Megabowl Entertainment Centre and over 50 restaurants, but all that is about to change.

The MetroCentre's Yellow Mall originally housed one of the centre's most distinctive features: the MetroLand indoor funfair, but now CSC plans to redevelop it as part of a comprehensive revamp of the centre's leisure offer. As part of the plan the MetroCentre's cinema will relocate from the Blue Mall to the space currently occupied by MetroLand. The cinema site will then be redeveloped with more retail space, allowing the centre to expand within the footprint of the existing building.

The MetroLand site will be converted into a new leisure district featuring family dining, the latest cinema format, modern bowling, pool tables and children's entertainment, including a new external play area.

The move will also be the catalyst for a comprehensive refurbishment of the Yellow Quadrant, including: a reconfiguration of the main entrance foyer; new flooring; the replacement of internal and external lighting; the replacement and relocation of escalators and lifts; and improved access to the Yellow car park.

CSC development director Richard Cable says: "Over the last five years, we have injected over £100m into the area through the investment we have made in keeping the MetroCentre at the forefront of the UK shopping centre industry. This next phase will bring more jobs and ensure that the MetroCentre continues to offer the best in modern shopping and leisure for local people and visitors to the North East."

The Yellow Mall refurbishment will be the first to be carried out under the aegis of the MetroCentre Partnership, a newly-formed joint venture between Capital Shopping Centres and GIC Real Estate.

Earlier this year Capital Shopping Centres sold 40 per cent of its 90 per cent stake in the MetroCentre to the investment arm of the government of Singapore in a £426m deal. The remaining 10 per cent is held by the Church Commissioners, the MetroCentre's original backer.

CSC continues to manage the MetroCentre on behalf of the partnership but GIC Real Estate now has a 36 per cent interest in the property. GIC RE is a global property investor with a multi-billion dollar portfolio and over 150 investments in more than 30 countries, including a stake in Bluewater in Kent.

Sir Robert Finch, chairman of CSC's parent company Liberty International, says: "We are delighted to welcome GIC Real Estate as a strategic long-term partner in one of our flagship assets. We are committed for the long term to the MetroCentre and to providing an attractive environment for our retailers and shoppers in this highly successful centre."

CSC will be reinvesting the proceeds of the sale in its £1bn development programme which is taking place nationwide, and includes projects in Oxford, Newcastle, Watford and Cardiff.

In a further vote of confidence in Gateshead, the MetroCentre Partnership recently bought the Metro Retail Park for £82.5m. The 220,000-sq ft park is situated immediately to the west of the MetroCentre, and extends the partnership's ownership to 2 million sq ft.

Caroline Kirby, CSC's asset management director, says: "It's important that we offer the best opportunities to our retailers and shoppers and this acquisition will enable us to do that."

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