News
GCW appointed as joint leasing agent at Bolton’s Market Place
7th August 2026GCW has been appointed as joint leasing agent at Market Place in Bolton by Blackstar Real Estate, working alongside Barker Proudlove to advise on new retail and leisure lettings at the scheme. Located in Bolton town centre, Market Place provides approximately 400,000 sq ft of retail, food and beverage, and leisure space. The scheme is anchored by the recently opened 40,000 sq ft Primark, with other occupiers including Next, JD, H&M, Nando’s, and The Light Cinema. It also hosts a leisure and dining offer within The Vaults. The scheme benefits from a 500-space car park, public transport connections, and an annual footfall of over 5.5 million visitors. Nick Warr, head of GCW’s Owner team said: “Market Place presents an exciting opportunity for retailers and leisure operators to join an already strong occupier line-up. “We look forward to working with Blackstar Real Estate and our joint agent in delivering the business strategy for the centre.” Sabri Marsaoui, chief executive of Blackstar Real Estate, added: “GCW brings considerable experience and market knowledge to the project and we look forward to working with them as we continue to evolve the occupier mix at Market Place.”
Deals
SushiDog to open its second-largest restaurant at The Broadway, St James’s Park
6th August 2026SushiDog is set to open at The Broadway, the one million sq ft mixed-use development in London’s St James’s Park, this September. The new restaurant, which will be SushiDog’s second-largest after its flagship on Warren Street, will span 1,138 sq ft and accommodate up to 28 guests. Founded in 2018, SushiDog pioneered the UK’s first build-your-own sushi concept and since then has become the UK’s fastest-growing Japanese culinary brand, expanding to 16 sites across Central London and Birmingham. It joins the existing food and beverage lineup at The Broadway, which includes Farmer J, Açaí Berry, Nostos Coffee, GAIL’s and Atis. The Broadway, which has been designed by architectural firm Squire & Partners and is asset managed by Valouran, occupies the historic site once home to New Scotland Yard. Set across six towers, the development comprises 116,000 sq ft of office space and 24,000 sq ft of retail and dining at street level, alongside 258 homes. The signing of SushiDog means that 13 of the 14 retail units are now leased, representing 82% of the total retail and dining area. In addition. Alex Michelin, co-founder and CEO of Valouran, said: “SushiDog is a fantastic addition to The Broadway’s line-up of retail and dining brands […]
Requirements
Toolstation eyes new sites as it looks to expand London and South East estate
22nd April 2026Toolstation has released its latest property requirements list as it looks to expand its store estate across Greater London and the South East. The trade supplies retailer is seeking units on high streets and trade parks ranging between 2,000 sq ft and 5,000 sq ft in size, located in prominent and visible roadside locations. Ideal units will be situated in easily accessible locations, with access to parking and loading bays essential. Target locations include: GCW has been retained to find suitable locations.
Insights
The rise of ‘treatonomics’: how changing spending patterns are affecting retail destinations
9th July 2026Times of economic difficulty and reduced consumer confidence have traditionally seen consumers tighten their purse strings, occasionally saving up for a larger purchase. But a recent shift in spending patterns suggests that shoppers are now shunning big-ticket purchases in favour of smaller, less expensive products or experiences. This concept, dubbed ‘treatonomics’, has been observed by Alex Petit, head of research and insights at Global Mutual, within the group’s portfolio of outlet shopping centres. “What we’ve seen is that cost-of-living crisis, combined with people wanting to keep on treating themselves, means that people are suddenly treating themselves on much smaller price points. That’s what we’re seeing with treatonomics”, she tells Completely Retail News. Data from the ONS found that despite increasing costs, sales volumes have remained broadly flat against pre-pandemic levels. This implies a shift towards consumers spending money less often, but instead choosing to make select purchases of higher values. “People are being very considered”, says Petit, “I think it comes from the pandemic as well, when we were all locked at home and we were deprived of a lot of things. People now have a slightly different outlook on life as there’s this hang-up psychologically, from us not being […]
Advice
Turn lease events from growing pains into commercial gains
10th March 2026By Simon Matley, director for dilapidations and occupier services at TFT After a period of acquisition, a large commercial retail portfolio can become either a major liability or a powerful cost saver for retailers who need every advantage they can get in a challenging consumer market. For national multiples and high street brands, often with sizeable portfolios numbering in the hundreds of units, or for smaller regional operations that are growing at speed, flexibility and control are hugely important. Brands today are adapting their portfolios in light of changing consumer behaviour and omni-channel retailing, and this is shaped by the increasingly sophisticated data capture that allows them to better understand stock, fulfilment, customer behaviour, and operations. For many who have been acquiring premises over the past 10 years, they will almost certainly find that data allows them to be more efficient in the space they need, not least because of the growth of last mile logistics and on demand deliveries which enables occupiers to be nimble in how they use their spaces. Whether they operate on the high street, in retail parks or rely on distribution centres, retailers want to scale fast, explore new territory and snap up the right […]
News
UK shopping centre investment sector set for strong second half of 2026 with £1.4bn of assets in the pipeline
6th August 2026The UK shopping centre investment market is set for a strong second half of the year, according to new research from Savills. The real estate adviser found that there are currently 17 shopping centre transactions with a combined capital value of £1.1bn under offer, with a further 19 centres currently on the market with a combined quoted value of around £320m. Together, this represents a pipeline of £1.4bn of shopping centre stock currently under offer or actively being marketed. According to Savills, H1 activity was heavily weighted towards the start of the year, with the first quarter accounting for £418m of transactions, before activity slowed the next quarter with £85m completed across four transactions. However, the group said the slowdown masked a more positive underlying picture, with a significant volume of stock either under offer or actively being marketed. Average transaction values have now reached £44m in the year-to-date in 2026, the highest level since 2016, reflecting a shift back towards larger, institutionally relevant assets. Merry Hill and The Broadway, Bradford together accounted for approximately 72% of H1 transaction volumes, which Savills said continued the trend of larger lot sizes driving activity in the sector. Mark Garmon-Jones, head of shopping […]
