The company behind the Scotch Corner Designer Village is looking to raise £25.5m by selling shares in the business.
Scotch Corner Designer Village Holdings plc has announced it intends to join a small‑cap stock exchange to offer people the chance to buy shares in the firm.
The company is proposing to be listed on the Aquis Real Asset Market (ARKAM) segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market (AQSE).
AQUSE is a smaller, more flexible alternative to the main London Stock Exchange, often used by smaller companies and property developers to raise money from investors.
Scotch Corner has appointed investment firm Oberon Investments Limited (Oberon Capital) and specialist retail‑investor platform RetailBook to raise £25.5 million of new equity capital.
This means the company will sell newly created “shares”, units of ownership in the business, mainly to members of the public and some larger investors, including pension funds and asset managers.
In addition, the land and business for the project will be contributed to the listed company by the sponsor, Simon Waterfield, in return for shares worth £16.5 million.
The proceeds of the shares to be issued and admitted to trading on the ARAM segment of AQSE will be used to pay down existing debt and progress the construction of the first phase of the Development.
The listing is expected to be completed in April 2026.
The project, first approved in 2015, has faced years of setbacks, with opening dates repeatedly pushed back from 2021 to 2023, then 2024, March 2026, and now spring 2027.
Despite work grinding to a halt at times during the overall project, contractors returned to the site last September and have been making progress, according to developers.
Last year, 19 new firms were announced, including M&S, Guess, Monsoon, Molton Brown, Hobbs, Phase Eight, Pizza Express, and Pret A Manger.
They join established names already signed up, such as Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Levi’s, Skechers, Clarks, Moss, and Dune London.
In total, the village will host 73 stores, with brands offering up to 60 per cent off retail prices.
Plans also include landscaped outdoor spaces, parking for 2,000 vehicles, and 250 electric vehicle charging points.
A garden centre is set to follow shortly after the retail park opens, with longer-term proposals for a hotel, drive-thru restaurants, and a petrol station also on the table.
Simon Waterfield, CEO of Scotch Corner Designer Village Holdings plc, said: "With the appointments of Oberon Capital and RetailBook, we are now commencing the fundraising process on what we believe is an exceptional opportunity for investors to benefit from the development of what will be the UK’s newest designer village, in the highest growth retail subsector.
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"Scotch Corner is already largely pre let, and we therefore believe it is substantially derisked, and is perfectly located on the ‘crossroads of the North’ where it enjoys a catchment of some 4.5 million consumers living within an hour’s drive and is passed by some 29 million vehicles each year.
Michael Lynagh, Director at Aram Advisors, added: “Having launched ARAM in the middle of last year and flagged that we were expecting Scotch Corner to be the first company to IPO on this new market, today’s announcement marks an important milestone in achieving our goal of creating a platform that democratises access to the £1.3 trillion UK real estate market, enabling the general public to invest in opportunities typically reserved for professional investors.
"We look forward to welcoming Scotch Corner onto Aquis in due course, and to proving ARAM’s position as a viable new capital raising option for real estate owners and developers.”
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