Partner Article

Newboulds leave 'extortionate' Cleveland Centre

A famous North East butchers has blamed high rents and the horsemeat scandal for its decision to leave a town centre shopping mall.

Newboulds, owned by Darlington-based Country Valley Foods, has moved out of the Cleveland Centre in Middlesbrough after its long-term lease expired.

Most of the Middlesbrough branch’s 12 staff have been relocated to other Newboulds stores across Teesside.

Country Valley managing director James Munro said: “The Cleveland Centre wants far too much money for renewing the lease.

“But it actually puts the business in a stronger position - the lease in there was fairly extortionate.

“If you look at the footfall figures, we were the busiest shop in there by a long stretch.

“But the unit was too big and too expensive to keep. We don’t have the expense now, and we didn’t want to commit to another 15-year lease.”

Mr Munro added that changing shopping habits are also a key factor.

“People don’t go into the town centre to buy their meat now,” he said.

“Our out-of-town and more rural shops like Stokesley, Marton and Acklam are the ones that do well, there’s a better customer spend there.”

Out of the 12 staff from the Middlesbrough Newboulds outlet, two took voluntary redundancy and the other 10 were relocated.

Country Valley Foods took over Newboulds, which also has stores in Guisborough, North Ormesby and Stockton, five years ago.

Earlier this year it was revealed horsemeat had been found in the foodchain.

The Cleveland Centre has so far declined Bdaily’s requests to comment.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Martin Walker .