Peacock Place, which houses stores like clothing and home goods giant Next and upmarket coffee machine manufacturers Gaggia, has declined steadily over the last few years culminating in half its stores standing empty as of yesterday.

The subsequent fall in rent from the stores has led the landlords to default on a loan and the shopping centre is now in the hands of receivers.

But, rather than representing bad news for the town, analysts believe the new landlord will focus on filling the empty units to recoup their investment.

Vida Tayebi, of loan assessors Fitch Research, said: "It's very likely with Peacock Place that a new owner would now see it as their priority to re-let the units which are now vacant."

In 2006 the then owners of Peacock Place re-branded the centre and fashioned two new entrances in the Market Square and Abington Street to attract more customers.

And, although any buyer for the centre would immediately be saddled with the balance of the loan repayment, the building is likely to be available for a competitive price, making agents for the shopping centre confident of a change in ownership.

A spokesman for managing agents WD Ltd said: "I'm sure that new owners will be taking on the property in due course."

Just how far the shopping centre has declined is highlighted by statistics which reveal Peacock Place was 89 per cent full when the landlords took out the loan in 2006.

However economic conditions have worsened significantly since then, with former tenants such as Officers Club and Priceless Shoes going into administration.

Yesterday 12 of the 24 units in Peacock Place were empty.

Legal and General, owners of the nearby Grosvenor Centre, yesterday said they were not planning to bid for the Peacock Place building.