GUEST COLUMN:
Niall Leighton-Boyce
CEO
The Boyce Group
When I bought Newport's Kingsway Centre at an auction, it wasn’t part of a grand plan. As a Bristol-based company, we’ve had a lot of success in our hometown, particularly in retail and with our thriving student population. But Newport was different – a new challenge, and one I’ve grown incredibly passionate about. Now, with a lot of empty shops slowly filling up, I’m excited to say we’re on the right track, and I’m optimistic about the future.
One of the ways we’ve been able to attract new businesses is by being highly competitive with our rents – essentially, we’ve taken the risk out of the equation for them. We’re not charging rent in many cases, just trying to cover our service charge, giving businesses a real chance to get off the ground and grow. At the same time, we’re being selective. We’re not interested in filling the Kingsway with businesses selling things you can just as easily buy on Amazon. That won’t work. Instead, we’re focusing on unique, experience-driven businesses – ones that offer something you can’t get online.
Take, for example, our new tenants. We have a company that specialises in brownies, and another that sells furniture. You can’t taste a brownie or sit on a sofa through a screen – these are the kinds of experiences that draw people into a physical space. We’re also encouraging businesses to focus on local produce, adding another layer of uniqueness to the centre. We want to give people a reason to visit, rather than just replicating the same old retail model that we know doesn’t work in the face of online shopping.
We’re also working hard to bring in fresh, high-quality food offerings. While Newport’s Friars Walk already caters to mainstream tastes with well-known food chains, we’re looking for something different. I’m in talks with a couple of Bristol-based companies, including Pieminister, which offers a fantastic, distinctive menu. These are small, independent chains that bring something unique to the table. We’re not trying to create another food court – there’s no need for another McDonald’s or Burger King here. Instead, we want to offer Newport something it doesn’t already have, something that sets the Kingsway Centre apart.
But it’s not just about retail and food. We’ve recently received planning approval for student accommodation and leisure use, which marks a huge step forward. One of our most exciting upcoming developments is the arrival of a paintball operator, set to open in the new year. Paintballing is an experience you can’t get online, and it’s the kind of attraction that will draw people into the city centre, creating a buzz around the Kingsway Centre and Newport itself.
Footfall is crucial, of course, but as I always say, it’s about converting that footfall into sales. We already have high footfall thanks to our 1,000-space car park, but the challenge is offering something that makes people stop, shop, and engage. Whether it’s grabbing a haircut at our well-placed barber by the car park or checking out our soon-to-open beauty salon, Queens, we want to turn passers-by into customers. Queens, for example, will benefit from the 50,000 people who walk through the centre every week, and we believe it will do incredibly well.
I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, but this is just the beginning. With the right mix of businesses, a focus on experience over convenience, and ongoing support from the community, I believe the Kingsway Centre will become a thriving hub once again – an asset to Newport’s future.
