Queensberry, in partnership with Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, has announced that Sports Direct and Coffee Boy will take space in the £180 million transformative town centre scheme that combines retail, leisure and cultural uses in the heart of Barnsley.
The Sportswear giant will take 19,600 sq ft set over two floors and will include its fashion arm USC, branching into the popular athleisure wear trend. The brand will move from its current location elsewhere in the town into a bigger and more contemporary store in The Glass Works. The popular sportswear shop will also bring its fashion arm USC – which specialises in men’s and women’s fashion from big names like Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, Diesel, G Star and more.
Specialist coffee shop, Coffee Boy will take 1,650 sq ft, and will enhance the diverse leisure offer including new library, traditional market, independent food court, 10 restaurants, SuperbowlUK and 13-screen Cineworld. Coffee Boy is a stylish, alternative take on the traditional coffee shop, selling a range of high quality coffees, teas, cold drinks, breakfasts, paninis, pizza and a range of cakes and ice cream.
Coffee Boy is set to open on Cheapside before Christmas this year, and Sports Direct will be opening in 2021 – joining sports fashion retailer JD Sports, which will open its doors in October. This news follows on from Nando’s committing to the scheme in August taking 3,634 sq ft on a 20 year lease, and the opening of the brand-new cultural anchor, Library @ the Lightbox, which also launched in July. The project has a number of significant milestones approaching in the coming months including the launch of Market Kitchen – a new food court comprising 11 outlets – in the autumn.
Jocelyn Holmes, Senior Leasing Manager, Queensberry, said: “Our strategy for The Glass Works has always been to create a new town centre hub that combines national fashion and retail brands with independent and regional operators. We wanted to curate a retail and leisure line up that complemented the wider cultural offer in the town centre at the Library and in the new market, to encourage footfall back in to the town from day through to evening. This is therefore a really key win for us, it is really positive that we have been able to integrate Sports Direct in a larger store and are excited to be welcoming Coffee Boy to Barnsley. We are looking forward to moving onward with the next stages as we build on this success further.”
David Shepherd, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, Service Director of Economic Regeneration said: “We’re delighted that Sports Direct will open in The Glass Works alongside Coffee Boy. Sports Direct is already a popular store in the town, and it is testament to the success of The Glass Works that it is expanding and upsizing into a bigger space over two floors.
“Coffee Boy will add another great dimension to what we’re trying to achieve with the redevelopment of the town centre. This is an exciting time for Barnsley illustrated by these two additions.”
