Mall operator Trafford Centre Group has filed its accounts for 2023 with revenue surging to almost £100 million but profit plunging.

The company operates the landmark Trafford Centre in Manchester and its revenue rose from £88.4 million in 2022 to £94.6 million last year. And net rental income rose from £62.9 million to £64.6 million.

Yet pre-tax profit was down to £29 million after having almost reached £70 million in the previous year. And debt also rose, jumping from £243 million in 2022 to £364 million this time.

The Trafford Centre, which has been a key mail in Manchester since its 1998 opening, occupancy levels edging up marginally to 91.1% from 91%.

And unlike many locations that saw lower footfall during 2023, the destination managed to increase its footfall slightly, reaching 20.8 million people, up from 20.1 million a year earlier.

The company was upbeat about its prospects despite the profits fall and said the centre “has had an extremely active year as phase one of our strategy to stabilise income and occupancy levels has been successfully delivered”.

It highlighted some key openings and the fact that comparisons with the prior year were tough given that 2022 “in itself was a strong year”.

It added 14 new brands to Trafford across a range of uses and price points during the year, such as Lululemon, Lounge, Mango, Lego, New Balance, Bath and Bodyworks and ProCook.

Lease renewals also looked strong and these combined with new lettings “demonstrate Trafford continues to be a ‘must-have’ location for retailers and restaurants and its reputation as the leading retail destination in the North West is now embedded in the mind of occupiers”.