FESTIVAL Place, Basingstoke's £350million flagship shopping centre, has gone from strength to strength since being named the 10th top retail centre in the UK.

Grosvenor's shopping and leisure complex expanded its regional appeal to shoppers, who were also spenders, during 2004, and built on the figures of the previous year.

And Grosvenor believes it is a trend that is set to continue after footfall through Festival Place hit a massive 18 million people last year. The number of visitors rose by 10 per cent on the lower floor and seven per cent on the upper level.

Tills were also ringing as retailer transactions increased by 10 per cent and five per cent as a dining-out experience.

The department stores of Debenhams, BHS and Marks and Spencer have also cashed in on the popularity of Festival Place with a 26 per cent rise in sales.

The amount of time and money that visitors spend at Festival Place is also on the up. Visitors now spend an average of two hours and 14 minutes at the centre - up from one hour and 56 minutes in 2003.

The increase in the average spend per group - which equals 1.9 people - is now £70.30 compared with £60.40 in 2003.

Research shows that Festival Place is establishing itself as a regional centre by attracting visitors from Andover, Farnham, Guildford, Camberley, Alton, Salisbury and Newbury.

In fact, 43 per cent of people living in Newbury consider Festival Place as their main or regular shopping centre and 60 per cent of people surveyed from Andover said they would return.

Festival Place scored highly with Winchester people, with 98 per cent saying they would recommend to family and friends.

Outside the shopping experience, visitors also gave high marks for dining out and were drawn by the Ster Century Cinema complex.

The visitor profile for Festival Place shows that 84 per cent are females, 60 per cent are classified as ABCs and 50 per cent are aged between 25 and 44 years old.

The retailer Animal operates out of more than 1,000 square feet of retail space and is reporting successful trading in the centre.

Glenn Bunting, Animal store co-ordinator, said: "Festival Place is proving a great success for us, with average customer spend per head having increased dramatically over the last year.

"Footfall through the store and consumer awareness has also increased, with continued activity and support from the centre."

Jane Stewart, marketing manager for Festival Place, was one of the first to celebrate the results of the latest survey.

She said: "We are delighted that Festival Place is trading so well and that it is attracting people from as far away as Winchester, Newbury and Andover.

"The combination of retailers, the quality of the environment and the ease with which visitors can arrive and park make it the first-choice destination in Hampshire."