Nottingham shopping arcade gets £100,000 facelift.

A boutique arcade in Nottingham city centre has been given a £100,000 makeover which is attracting shoppers and boosting trade.

The refurbishment of the Flying Horse Walk in the city centre has seen improvements to its interior and exterior, along with new lighting and signage. The once familiar ‘flying horse’ statue of the walk, which disappeared a number of years ago, has also been reinstated.

Planning for the refurbishment began in September 2011 after the arcade was acquired by London and County LLP.

Simon Blair of London and County said: “We decided to refurbish the historic Flying Horse Walk to put it back on the map as a quality shopping destination and I’m really pleased with the result. With the updated signage, lighting and decoration the arcade is now looking better than ever.

“I am feeling particularly confident about the year ahead. Times are still hard in the challenging retail environment, but I feel that the Flying Horse Walk has a unique offering in terms of the independent and specialist retailers based here.”

Completion of the project comes at the end of a successful period for the Flying Horse Walk, which has taken on a number of new tenants over the last few months – including Apalts and Trendyfeel, and has seen the expansion of The Cheese Shop – which has now created a busy new café.

On top of the refurbishment, the arcade has changed its name back from the FH Mall to the Flying Horse Walk and designed a new website in a rebranding exercise. It has also introduced a new loyalty card scheme.

Before opening its doors as a Nottingham shopping centre in 1988, the Flying Horse Walk has been home to a hotel, warehouse, shops, dwellings and public houses with the first of many pubs, the Punchbowl, dating back to 1758.

The Walk is home to: Trendyfeel, Vivienne Westwood, The Cheese Shop, Stick & Ribbon, Atomic, Sugacane, Bird’s, Inspired, George Thornton Art, Berketex, Cathy Stephens, Whitewall Gallery, Apalts and High & Mighty.