University Hospital Southampton Main Entrance and Retail Area

Unlocking investment challenges to secure and deliver a new main entrance and retail area

In the development of a new main entrance and retail area, Prime has helped University Hospital Southampton (UHS) to solve a growing capacity issue, while at the same time create value for their future.

The £2.5m scheme offers an innovative solution for an outdated facility, that has helped to modernise the hospital and generate income that the Trust can reinvest into frontline patient services.

When hospital facilities are no longer fit for purpose, but financing issues are creating barriers to development, Prime are experts at delivering viable and innovative solutions – as highlighted during the redevelopment of the Main Entrance and Retail Area (MERA) at UHS.

The original entrance and retail concourse were built in the 1980s when the hospital served a much smaller patient population. Now almost 10,000 patients, visitors and staff arrive at the hospital every weekday. The existing entrance area provided limited space for people to comfortably stop and wait and there was also a need for a more diverse retail offering and improved wayfinding.

Without capital available to finance the redevelopment plans, UHS needed to secure private investment, renegotiate existing tenancies, attract new retailers to improve quality and choice, and generate a financial return for both the Trust and investors.

In the first project to be delivered through the Commercial Estates Development Partnership (CEDP) between Prime and UHS, the viability of this scheme is the result of a highly successful public-private deal. The joint venture – one of the first of its kind in an acute environment – brought together public and private sector expertise to design, build and finance new facilities, while also providing the Trust with a wide spectrum of estates and support services.

Within the partnership, Prime utilised our extensive investment and development experience to help the Trust deliver improved infrastructure and high-quality facilities, while seizing upon commercial opportunities. Helping the Trust to capitalise on a vital revenue source and channel profits into frontline health services.

Patients, staff, students and visitors now benefit from a modern and welcoming entrance to the hospital that better reflects its reputation for excellence. Something we helped the Trust achieve while simultaneously minimising disruption.