Glasgow Fort, located to the east of the city, saw footfall climb by 8% last year, resulting in its strongest annual performance to date. Strong sales were generated by retailers in the health and beauty, multi-retail, and jewellery categories.
The peak came on December 23, when the park enjoyed its busiest-ever day since opening. British Land, which also owns retail parks in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Inverness and Kilmarnock, said this was driven by schools closing for the Christmas holiday and midnight trading offered by many retailers, which was said to demonstrate the advantage of flexible retail park operating hours during peak trading periods.
Glasgow Fort was also supported by investment by retailers during the year. Superdrug, the health and beauty retailer, unveiled a new store concept, while fashion operator River Island completed a “substantial” expansion of its existing unit.
Glasgow Fort was not alone in the British Land estate in reporting a strong Christmas. Fort Kinnaird in Edinburgh was also said to have recorded consistent footfall growth throughout the festive season. Visitor numbers in the final trading week were 4% on the previous year, with the peak trading day falling on December 30.
Developments under way at Fort Kinnaird include a major redevelopment of its Eastern Terrace to create more than 20,000 sq ft of upgraded retail space. Premium beauty brand Rituals and greeting card specialist Clintons have signed up for the redeveloped terrace, which offers stores ranging from from 1,100 to 3,000 sq ft in size.
Lush, the handmade cosmetics retailer, opened a 1,217 sq ft store as part of the first phase. And existing occupiers Specsavers and Costa Coffee completed substantial refits as part of the wider terrace transformation, which is scheduled to be completed this spring.
British Land’s two destinations in Inverness, Inshes Retail Park and Inverness Retail Park, saw visitor numbers grow by 2.5%.
Ross McCall, retail leasing and commercialisation director at British Lands, said: “2025 was a strong year for our Scottish parks. We completed significant leasing activity, with footfall growth across our sites. It’s clear these destinations are delivering for both retailers and customers.
“The level of retailer investment is especially encouraging, with expansions from both Superdrug and River Island at Glasgow Fort and household names arriving at Fort Kinnaird’s Eastern Terrace.
“With 74,000 square feet under offer for 2026, the momentum is clearly carrying through and we’re excited about how this will enhance the offering across locations.”
British Land said leasing activity at its Scottish retail parks remains positive so far this year, with 16 units totalling 74,000 sq ft currently under offer across its regional portfolio.