Ashford Designer Outlet

Ashford Designer Outlet opened in 2000 at Kimberley Way in Ashford, Kent, as the first McArthurGlen designer outlet centre in southeastern England, with 26,000 sqm of gross leasable area and approximately 80 premium and mid-market brand stores. The centre is owned and operated by McArthurGlen Group as the principal designer outlet destination for Kent and the cross-Channel catchment.

Ashford’s geographic position defines this outlet centre’s commercial advantage: the town sits at the junction of the M20 motorway and the High Speed 1 rail line, making it the primary road and rail gateway between London and the Channel Tunnel. Eurostar services historically stopped at Ashford International Station; those international stops were suspended in 2020 and have not resumed, making the current primary transit draw the HS1 domestic high-speed service to London St Pancras in 38 minutes. The outlet village format presents premium and designer brands at reduced prices, with tenants including fashion, sportswear, accessories, and homewares from the mid-luxury and premium casual tiers. The M20 position also captures Kent-wide car traffic and the substantial tourism flow between London and the Folkestone-Dover port corridor.

Ashford’s population of approximately 80,000 provides the immediate urban base. The outlet’s broader catchment extends from the Medway towns northwest through Folkestone and Hythe to the south, and captures cross-Channel visitors from the wider Channel Tunnel tourism catchment. The HS1 rail connection to London St Pancras places the outlet within 38 minutes of central London by high-speed train.

McArthurGlen operates Ashford as part of its UK outlet network alongside Cheshire Oaks, East Midlands, Livingston, Swindon, Bridgend, and York. The Channel Tunnel proximity is the structural differentiator that no other UK outlet centre can replicate: the gateway position between London and continental Europe creates a demand base that extends the practical catchment across national borders.