News release
16 August 2011

ERNST & YOUNG AND WESTPAC BUILDINGS
TO BE OFFICIALLY OPENED AT BRITOMART

This week will see the official opening by Prime Minister John Key of two new buildings at Britomart, the Ernst & Young Building and the second element of Westpac on Takutai Square.

The opening ceremony will be held on the evening of Thursday 18 August in the Atrium on Takutai, the retail gallery running between the two buildings and forming part of the new complex.

The celebrations will be compered by broadcaster John Campbell, with speeches made by John Key and Auckland Mayor Len Brown, and representing Britomart developer Cooper and Company, CEO Matthew Cockram and Executive Chairman Peter Cooper.

The evening will feature entertainment from the Andrew Mockler Band, pop opera group Lyrica, dancers and aerial performers.

The two buildings were completed by Cooper and Company in March 2011, and were blessed on completion by Ngāti Whātua kaumātua Takutai Wikiriwhi. The commercial tenants took up residence in April 2011 and ground-floor retail has been opening progressively over the last few months.

Anchor tenants and retailers

The upper levels of the buildings are occupied by the offices of anchor tenants Ernst & Young, Westpac New Zealand and Southern Cross Health Society, totalling around 2100 staff.

At ground level the buildings are occupied by the fashion, beauty and food and beverage retailers of Atrium on Takutai. These include fragrance and cosmetic boutiques Jo Malone, M.A.C and L’Occitane and high-end sportswear stores Nike Britomart and lululemon athletica.

Swedish designer stationery boutique Kikki K and the first New Zealand store for UK fashion label Ted Baker have also recently opened in the Atrium. They will be joined in mid-September by action sports apparel store Co-Lab, stocking surf, skate, snow and streetwear brands Nike SB, Nike 6.0 and others.

Food and beverage retailers already trading in the Atrium include cafes Espresso Workshop and L’Assiette and lunch bars Smart Sushi and Pita Pit. The Atrium is also home to a Westpac community bank branch.

New retail coming to Britomart

Elsewhere in the precinct, a new concept store for cycling brand Giant is about to open in the Britomart Car Park Building on Quay Street.

From early September, retail outlets in the new Showcase development in the centre of the precinct will also begin to open. These include a new flagship store for technology retailer and community hub Yoobee, a new branch for outdoor apparel brand Timberland and New Zealand’s first store for Japanese sports shoe label Onitsuka Tiger.

Also part of the Showcase will be Curate, a high-fashion retail ‘gallery’ featuring up to a dozen of New Zealand’s top designers, including Kate Sylvester, Stolen Girlfriends Club, Sabatini and Cybèle. Adjacent to the Showcase will be a flagship ‘shoebox’ store for Kathryn Wilson, the first dedicated store for New Zealand’s leading footwear designer.

The Showcase is a medium-term retail development that will eventually give way to a second major mixed-use building, of similar scale to the Ernst & Young and Westpac on Takutai Square complex.

Other retail coming soon to the precinct includes the first New Zealand store for Brazilian flip-flops brand Havaianas, to open in early September on the Tyler Street side of the Seafarers Building. A new showroom for outdoor furniture company Coast New Zealand will open around the same time in the nearby Altrans Building.

Vintage designer clothing boutique Coucou will also open early September in Masonic House, in the space adjacent to Made on Customs Street East.

New hospitality coming soon

Also opening in early September will be modern bistro District Dining, sister establishment to the acclaimed Sydney restaurant, on the ground floor of the Customs Street-facing element of Westpac on Takutai Square.

Sarge’s Pies, a vintage caravan selling homemade classic Kiwi pies and gourmet hot dogs, will open in time for the Rugby World Cup in the centre of the precinct, adjacent to the Showcase development.

Mexican street food restaurant and tequila bar Mexico will open on the ground floor of the Kiwi Tavern building later in the year.

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