Retail torture :/

The Metrocentre (formerly MetroCentre)(styled corporately as intu Metrocentre and on road signs as Metrocentre) is a shopping centre in the United Kingdom.

Located in Gateshead, near Newcastle upon Tyne, on a former industrial site close to the River Tyne, the Metrocentre opened in stages, with the first phase opening on 28 April 1986 and the official opening on 14 October 1986. It has more than 340 shops occupying 2,093,000 square feet (194,400 m2) of retail floor space, making it the largest shopping and leisure centre in the UK. Additional retail space is available in the adjoining Metro Retail Park and MetrOasis.

Metrocentre's construction was financed by the Church Commissioners of England, and was masterminded by Sir John Hall's company, Cameron Hall Developments, the ground upon which it is built was purchased for a mere £100,000 in the early '70s. Access to the development was facilitated by an urban development grant from the Department of the Environment and the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. In October 1995, the centre was sold to Capital Shopping Centres for £364m, although the Church Commissioners retained a 10% stake.

Reflecting its Church of England origins, Metrocentre is one of the few European shopping centres to have its own chapel and resident full-time chaplain. Services are held on special occasions such as Mothering Sunday, Remembrance Sunday and Christmas.

Metrocentre has five main malls; Red, Green, Blue, Yellow and Platinum. It also has themed shopping areas featuring independent retailers; The Village, formerly known as the Antiques Village, The Forum, formerly known as the Roman Forum, and Qube, formerly known as the Mediterranean Village, and houses over 50 restaurants and cafes.

The first phase of Metrocentre was opened on 28 April 1986 - the red mall. At the time it featured a large Carrefour supermarket, which later became Gateway and subsequently Asda.

The Metrocentre also featured the first out of town Marks & Spencer.

In the 1990s, Asda moved from Metrocentre to a larger stand-alone store nearby, facilitating the redevelopment of the Red Mall.

Metrocentre is part of 'Intu Properties plc'.

But all I know is Kim loves it here and we're sure as hell going through the KrispyKreme drivethru :)