Two ‘big brands’ could be coming to The Lexicon in 2024, the News has been told.

A leading Bracknell Forest Councillor said the owners of the shopping centre told him of the news earlier this month – though he said they wouldn’t tell him who.

Councillor Paul Bidwell said: “As we speak we’ve got a couple of big names – they won’t tell me who – two big brands coming in the new year.”

He added that he believed the number of visitors to The Lexicon was on the up. The claim comes after a number of shops in The Lexicon closed their doors in 2023. Shops that went included Four State, Menkind, Plush, Paperchase and Prezzo.

Councillor Bidwell – who is responsible for regeneration and business at Bracknell Forest Council – acknowledged that seeing shops close could be ‘disturbing’ for people who want a thriving town centre.

He said: “It’s disturbing when residents see shops closing because it sets a tone. Not only do they not want to see shops empty, but they also wonder what’s next.”

But he added that the Lexicon’s owners – the Bracknell Regeneration Partnership – had told him that the shopping centre was recovering since the pandemic.

He also said he’s been told more people were visiting the shopping centre, including from outside of Bracknell, although he didn’t have figures to hand.

Councillor Bidwell said: “We’ve been very fortunate with The Lexicon because following the Covid pandemic a lot of business were going into administration and there was a fear we’d lose brands from the town centre.

“They were able to keep that to a minimum and the footfall to the town centre has increased – not just residents coming to the town centre but also people from out of the borough.”

The news also comes after Bracknell Forest Council announced it would have to pay back £31.1 million to businesses in the borough – many in the Lexicon – in business rates tax.

Several businesses in the Lexicon appealed to the government for a reduction in the amount they had to pay dating back as far as 2017. The council only learned of this once the government granted the appeal.

It was a big blow to a council struggling to make its money cover its costs – but councillor Bidwell said there was nothing the council could have done.

He said: “If we could do something to push back we would. This is something that’s out of our control. If the valuation office agency decide that some of them have paid too much and they can backdate that to 2017, we can’t influence that.”

But councillor Bidwell insisted that the fortunes of the shopping centre are set to improve next year. He said: “In the new year we’ll be up to strength. At the moment as far as The Lexicon is concerned it is good news.”