Henderson Global Investors (HGI) said on Monday that it has received the go-ahead from the municipality of Barberino del Mugello to start building works on the second phase of its Barberino Designed Outlet. Phase II will expand the retail space by 6,000 m2 to a total of 27,000 m2 and is planned to open in the third quarter of 2012.

Barberino, located in the province of Florence and in the heart of Tuscany, will see the addition of 30-35 extra stores to its current retail offer of around 100 stores. The scheme is owned by HGI's European Outlet Mall Fund (EOMF), with McArthurGlen as a co-investor in the centre as well as in the EOMF.

The centre was opened in 2006 by McArthurGlen, and purchased by Henderson's EOMF in 2009.

'We are seeing record numbers of consumers visiting our centres in Italy as well as across the rest of Europe, as shoppers look to stretch their money further and still buy those top brands that they love,' said Gary Bond, McArthurGlen's CEO Development.

McArthurGlen operates five Designer Outlets in Italy. The other four are: Serravalle Designer Outlet (Milan), which is Europe's biggest designer outlet with 180 stores, Castel Romano Designer Outlet (Rome), Veneto Designer Outlet (Venice) and La Reggia Designer Outlet (Naples), which opened in February 2010.

Currently, McArthurGlen is under way with the development of nearly 150,000 m2 of new retail space across Europe, with new centres opening in Athens, later this year, and in Neumünster, near Hamburg, in 2012, as well as the expansion of many of its centres across Europe, including its Designer Outlets at Castel Romano and Veneto, as well as Barberino.