Steve Fawke has been appointed general manager of Swindon’s Brunel retail centre after eight years working in a similar role at a smaller shopping mall in Reading.
As manager of the Broad Street Mall he oversaw a £9m refurbishment which helped bring in new shops while a programme of promotions including Has Reading Got Talent? and the Reading Retail Awards put it back on the town’s shopping map. 
As a result Mr Fawke, pictured, came runner-up in the shopping centre manager of the year category in this year’s Shopping Centre magazine’s annual awards.
His arrival at the 100-shop Brunel Centre comes hot on the heels of its management company First Investments Real Estate Management (FIREM) announcing a substantial increase in its marketing budget and appointing a dedicated marketing manager.
The £400,000 national, regional and local marketing campaign to promote the 550,000 sq ft Brunel is its largest ever and forms a major part of an on-going strategy to revive the fortunes of the centre.
The fortunes of the centre, which occupies more than half of Swindon town centre’s retail area, have dramatically improved from a low point in December 2011 when eight retailers went into receivership, leaving more than 10% of its retail space vacant and rent arrears of nearly £600,000.
Lancashire-based FIREM, which took over management of The Brunel last year, has since reduced vacant space to 3.34% and the rent arrears to nil by working with the retailers on repayment plans and with letting agents to attract new tenants and re-gear existing retail leases. Footfall has also increased substantially.
Mr Fawke said: “I wasn’t looking to move and it was a tough decision to leave Reading. I’m extremely proud of what I achieved as manager of Broad Street Mall. But once I heard about the plans for The Brunel I knew it was a challenge that I couldn’t resist”.
FIREM head of shopping centre management UK and Europe, Bernard Ferris, said: “We’re delighted that Steve has decided to join us at The Brunel Swindon. We have been aware of Steve for some time and watched what a great job he has been doing at Reading. The Brunel has great potential and Steve’s energy, ideas and experience are exactly what the centre needs”.
