Work begun in the summer of 2007 on an expansion to the shopping centre. It involved the demolition of the old Coach House,[1] the construction of a new concourse over the bus station and the remodelling of the centre's interior. On 30 October 2008 the extension opened to the public, with branches of Debenhams, New Look and Starbucks.[2]Brighthouse; a rent-to-own retailer, a Card Factory shop, also the EE and O2 mobile phone retailers have moved in since the opening but some units remain unlet as of late-2010 possibly due to the late-2000s recession. The shopping centre was given further negative news on Friday 26 April 2019 when it was announced that the Debenhams store, which has been in extended part of the centre since 2008 was named amongst 22 stores nationally earmarked for closure. It closed in January 2020.[3]
Administration
In early March 2012 Miller Developments formally announced that the shopping centre had entered administration.[4] On 2 March 2012 it was confirmed that the administrator handling the sale of Market Gates Shopping Centre was Deloitte[5] Deloitte were appointed Administrators on behalf of Bank of Scotland who own the shopping centre following the transfer of ownership on 29 February 2012.
Bought
In November 2013 a group called Ellandi bought Market Gates for £28m.[6] Ellandi plan to upgrade and expand Market Gates providing an extra 1,904 m2 (20,490 sq ft) over two levels.[7]
Fire
In early March 2012, firefighters were called to deal with a blaze at the shopping centre, which involved a sign.[8]