centre:mk

2024: A Year of New Store Openings, Events and UK Firsts

We’ve always been proud to be at the heart of Milton Keynes’, working alongside the vibrant mix of community organisations, charities, culture and arts organisations that make up our vibrant and diverse city, and 2024 was no exception. The centre welcomed over 22 million visitors in 2024, plus amazing new brands and hosted an array of events, to support the wider city and beyond.

The real stand out for 2024 was the incredible brands that joined our unrivalled store and restaurant line up. We welcomed Castore, Space NK, Mint Velvet, Bill’s, OFFICE, The Entertainer and Cornish Bakery, plus bigger and better stores for Goldsmiths and Starbucks!

Throughout the year, we hosted over 200 days of events in Middleton Hall, including our bi-annual Fashion Weekends, as well as our Black History Month celebration, Handmade & Vintage Extravaganzas, Wedding & Job Shows, and our brand-new Christmas Grotto which welcomed over 40,000 children and adults.

A real highlight for 2024, was introducing the UK’s first Smart City Experience Centre in November, unveiling a unique store, offering shoppers the chance to experience and interact with digital technology and robots to understand how technology can complement and enhance consumers’ everyday lives. Building on the European robotics competitions and robot trials sponsored and hosted at centre:mk in 2019 and 2023, the initiative seeks to showcase Milton Keynes as the UK’s number one location in which new technologies are being developed and tested, with projects already live in a real-world environment. Find out more here

Smart City Experience Centre

centre:mk won over 7 awards including Best Community Initiative at The Revo’s for the art Installation ‘The Place Between’, Security Team of the Year at the Sceptres and awarded the prestigious RoSPA Gold, Health and Safety Award.

Supporting the community is at the heart of everything we do and we’re so proud to have worked with 97 charities and community organisations this year, and thanks to our amazing guests, raising over £70,000 in charitable donations. The year was topped off with overwhelming generosity of our guests; donating over £10,000 worth of gifts to The Henry Allen Trust, supporting children facing childhood cancer, as part of ‘The Giving Tree’ initiative at Christmas.

The Henry Allen Trust at centre:mk Santa Parade

Our Purple City Campaign in association with MyMiltonKeynes BID

We also couldn’t be prouder of ‘Our Purple City’ campaign – which launched in November in association with MyMiltonKeynes BID, with the ambition to make Milton Keynes the UK’s first Purple City. To champion accessibility and inclusivity for people with disabilities that are both seen and unseen, within our community. On Purple Tuesday we hosted 13 fantastic local disability charities and organisations to pop-up around the centre which coincided with the launch of our Sensory Room in our guest Services Lounge, offering a quiet space for those wanting to take time out from the busy shopping centre. Find out more here

Throughout the year we’ve continued to grow our ESG strategy and have been awarded several amazing and sought after accreditations, in recognition of what we have achieved so far, such as introducing more beehives, as part of our green roof initiative, with over 40,000+ bees buzzing around on our centre rooftop and since 2018, we have reduced carbon, equivalent to 14 million miles driven in a car.