New lease of life: The old Debenhams in Barrow-in-Furness
For decades, shoppers flocked to Debenhams in Barrow-in- Furness for their fashion fixes and bra fittings.
Now the site of the former department store is set to become home to a different sort of precision engineering after being bought by defence giant BAE Systems.
Demand for the manufacturer’s military kit, from fighter jets to frigates, has surged amid the heightened global tensions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The shipyard town in Cumbria is already home to BAE’s submarine business, which is adding to its training and development facilities as its 11,000-strong workforce expands. Now BAE is buying four former retail properties in the town centre, including former WH Smith and Body Shop sites as well as Debenhams and a rooftop car park.
BAE has given few details of its plans for the old shops, although it has said it will renovate them rather than knock them down.
It raises the prospect of make-up counters being replaced by submarine simulators and bargain bins making way for missile tube blueprints.
With Debenhams having gone bust two years ago – and now existing only as an online brand after being bought by Boohoo – some of its former stores have been snapped up by rivals including Marks & Spencer, Dunelm and The Range.
Others have found more colourful occupants. The one in Wandsworth, South West London, is now a Gravity Active, housing a host of leisure pursuits from climbing walls to an indoor go-kart track.
The Gloucester premises is being converted into a university lecture hall. Others will be turned into flats, a boutique hotel and even a gallery. Many are still empty. BAE said that in Barrow it will build upon the extensive investment it has already made in the town. Its submarines division, which is based there, is looking to hire more than 2,500 people this year.
Steve Timms, managing director of BAE’s submarines business, said: ‘For more than 150 years our shipyard and the local community have worked side by side to support each other and this investment is a demonstration of our ongoing commitment to develop and champion the town.’
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