Ellandi’s vision for sustainable and community-focused town centre regeneration

ESG is critical to the future of retail and property has a huge role to play on the road to net zero.

That’s why we met with senior managers at Ellandi — the UK’s leading delivery partner for investing in, transforming and managing retail and town centre spaces — to understand how it’s leading the charge on sustainability and community initiatives. Here, Ellandi’s Director, Tim Cornford and Asset Manager, Robin Didier explain the company’s vision, the work it’s doing to regenerate town centres and how these initiatives are giving back to the local community.

Robin Didier: Ellandi’s vision

People make places. As asset managers and responsible landowners, Ellandi’s vision is to create the UK’s most sustainable and inclusive communities through appropriate infrastructure that allows them to live, work, relax and thrive.

Across our portfolio, we have a large amount of landholding within town centres. Most of it is vacant, so retail spaces can be used to create community hubs within town centres, support social enterprises, establish mental health support groups and provide business incubation spaces and civic services. There are a load of different initiatives that can create vibrance and breathe life back into town centres in otherwise vacant spaces to support the local community — whatever each demographic needs.

At Ellandi, we like to think of ourselves as strategic delivery partners for town centre regeneration. We work with both public and private sector bodies. We are starting to work with local authorities and because they have such a long-term interest within those town centres, we are able to tailor the support we provide and the management of the wider town centre initiative. This helps to create much more cohesion in terms of regeneration projects.

Tim Cornford: town centre regeneration

Our focus as a business is to make social impact part of the DNA of everyone that works within the business. This is why, when working with social value portal, we have come up with a number of KPIs and initiatives to push across the whole of the asset management team. This means that all decisions they make will be focused on creating the maximum possible social value. We are the first asset management company to be doing this in the retail sector and we will use this output to create more KPIs and action plans for each of our 19 shopping centres, so that we can continue to improve social value year on year. 

A lot of the social value created at our shopping centres will be coming from our occupiers, so we have been working closely with them to measure the way that they are managing their waste and looking into their supply chains. The maximum value that can be created is ensuring that they align with what it is we are trying to achieve as a business, which is minimising waste that is going to landfill, ensuring good quality jobs for people and ensuring they are well paid.

We support our communities in many different ways. One key project that we support is the Lighthouse Project at Middleton Shopping Centre. This supports the local community through various groups and initiatives that it runs via the scheme, including foodbanks and IT literacy training for people looking to get back into the workplace. One of the key things that we run through the Lighthouse Project is Men’s Sheds — our charity of the year at Ellandi — which provides community spaces for men to connect, converse and create.

Brabners: supporting ESG in the retail sector

For many retailers, building ESG into their business is a long journey. While some aren’t in a position to make wholesale changes immediately, making a start now is critical.

At Brabners, we strongly believe that business has a social purpose. We know that many retailers want to work with partners that share their values and whose practices align with the expectations of their clients.

To find out more about how we can support you, talk to our retail team today.

Learn more about our approach to sustainability.

Watch Robin and Tim in action with our videos that explore purpose, product and place when it comes to ESG in the retail sector.

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Drawing on 25 years of data alongside insights from regeneration leaders, our new research report —  Making Places Work —  examines how places across the North have changed over time and identifies where genuine, sustained progress has been achieved. 

It's a practical tool for policymakers, developers, investors and communities who want to create places that enable the people who live and work in them to thrive.

Download the report to get the full picture.