 The Borough Council turned their focus on trying to find a way to bring substantial improvements to the centre, but this work was constrained by high occupancy levels and the number of sitting tenants on very long lets.In 2004, the leasehold was purchased by the St Modwen development group in partnership with Kuwait property investment company Salhia Real Estate.In 2008, the first details of the planned makeover for The Malls were released, with plans to renovate the buildings.