The team at Five Valleys Shopping Centre in Stroud are celebrating a successful year, with annual footfall rising by 12.5% in 2025, welcoming 2.6 million visitors to the centre over the course of the year.
Total footfall reached 2.6 million visits during 2025, reflecting growing confidence in the centre and the continued appeal of its evolving retail, food and leisure line-up.
During the key festive trading period, December 2025 footfall increased year on year, delivering a strong Christmas performance and positive end to the year. Overall figures for the final quarter were supported by increased activity across the centre and a growing number of return visits.
Five Valleys continues to strengthen its reputation as a regional destination, driven in particular by the success of its indoor Street Food Market, which attracts visitors from across Gloucestershire and beyond.
The market was extended during the year and welcomed three new food traders in December, further enhancing Five Valleys’ position as a standout food-led town-centre destination. It is home to more than 20 talented traders offering everything from sushi to Thai, Indian, chippy tapas and Cuban cuisine, alongside a traditional French patisserie and other award winning food traders, including the Artisan Baker.
The past 12 months have also seen a host of independent and specialist businesses join the Five Valleys line-up, contributing to increased footfall and dwell time and reinforcing the centre’s distinctive identity.
A major highlight of 2025 was the launch of The Home of Vintage, a vibrant and carefully curated new space bringing together vintage traders, artists, makers, collectors and specialists in pre-loved fashion, books, jewellery, homewares and collectibles.
The concept has already proven hugely popular with sustainable shoppers, delivering a noticeable uplift in trade, with the next phase due to open at Easter 2026.
Since acquiring the previously failing Merrywalks Centre seven years ago, Dransfield Properties has delivered a £30 million phased programme of improvements, with building works now almost complete and the long-term vision for a successful and resilient town centre largely realised.
The centre now provides a broad mix of key town-centre facilities, including a library and medical centre, alongside a strong independent retail line-up, leisure uses and a thriving food offer.
Five Valleys has been widely recognised as an example of best practice in town-centre regeneration. In 2025, the centre was singled out as a case study when Dransfield Properties was invited to give evidence to a House of Lords Select Committee examining the future and resilience of the high street. Five Valleys was highlighted as a model for how town centres can successfully combine retail, leisure, food, community space and essential services.
Centre Manager at Five Valleys, Mick Grundy, said: “Welcoming 2.6 million visitors in a single year is a fantastic achievement and reflects the progress we’ve made at Five Valleys. We’re confident we can continue to grow these figures, particularly following the launch of The Home of Vintage and the extension of the Street Food Market, both of which have already delivered a noticeable uplift in footfall.
“Five Valleys has become a shining beacon for the future of town centres, offering something genuinely different and rooted in the community. The response from customers, businesses and national stakeholders alike shows that this approach is working, and we’re excited about what comes next.”
Further new businesses are already confirmed to join Five Valleys in the first quarter of 2026, continuing the momentum into the new year. During 2025, businesses including Glowing by Leah and Murrays Estate Agents joined the centre, while existing occupiers Rough Hands Coffee and the Artisan Baker expanded their space.
Additional announcements, including more traders joining The Home of Vintage, will be made later this month along with the second phase launch in Easter 2026.
To keep up to date with news and events at Five Valleys, visit www.fivevalleysstroud.co.uk
