Bicester Village: Shoppers eyeing bargains on luxury help sales and profits surge

Shoppers seeking a bargain on luxury helped the company behind Bicester Village, which was founded by the family that owns the Empire State Building in New York, increase its sales and profits last year, according to newly-filed accounts.

London-headquartered Value Retail has posted a revenue of £340.6m for 2023, up from the total of £308.8m it reported in 2022.

The company’s pre-tax profits also increased from £8.1m to £8.9m over the same 12-month period.

Bicester Village first opened in 1995 and is home to more than 150 boutiques of British and international fashion and lifestyle brands including Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Bang & Olufsen, Bottega Veneta, Breitling, Burberry, Dior, Gucci, Manolo Blahnik, Prada, Stella McCartney and Valentino.

As well as Bicester Village, Value Retail also behind sites in Milan, Munich, Dublin, Barcelona, Paris, Madrid, Brussels and Frankfurt.

A location in New York is set to open in September this year while it also runs sites in Shanghai and Suzhou which do not form part of the UK-based accounts.

Value Retail was founded by chairman Scott Malkin whose father, Peter, owned the Empire State Building.

The building is now owned by the Empire State Realty Trust and chaired by Anthony Malkin, Scott’s brother.

Value Retail is 40 per cent owned by property development and investment company, Hammerson, whose sites include London’s Brent Cross Shopping Centre and Grand Central in Bull Ring in Birmingham.

According to the latest accounts filed with Companies House, Value Retail paid out a £16m dividend in 2023, having not paid one in 2022.

Its UK sales increased from £92.7m to £99.9m, from £24.7m to £26.5m in Ireland and from £191.4m to £214.1m in Europe.

During the year the average number of people employed by Value Retail those from 1,062 to 1,121.

The accounts come after reports towards the end of 2023 that Hammerson was in talks to sell its stake in Value Retail