News
Bath & Body Works picks Frasers Plus Braehead for first store in Scotland
29th October 2026Bath & Body Works is set to open its first store in Scotland at Frasers Plus Braehead in Glasgow. Opening ahead of Christmas, the new store will span over 2,000 sq ft, offering a range of fragrance, beauty, and seasonal gifting products. Bath & Body Works will add to the existing beauty and lifestyle lineup at Frasers Plus Braehead, joining Rituals, Boots, LUSH, M&S, and Tk Maxx, alongside the largest Superdrug store in Scotland. White Stuff is also due to open shortly at the retail and leisure destination. The signing follows the recent opening of SuperPark’s first UK location at Braehead. The operator opened a 30,000 sq ft space, offering 40 attractions including challenges, sporting games, and freestyle activities. Rachel Scott, head of leasing at Global Mutual, said: “Bath & Body Works’ decision to select Frasers Plus Braehead for its first standalone Scottish store is a significant endorsement of the destination’s regional reach and the momentum behind our evolving offer. “Bath & Body Works will broaden our beauty offer across body care, home fragrance and gifting, while giving shoppers access to the full standalone store experience. Opening ahead of Christmas, it will introduce a strong new gifting proposition that complements […]
Deals
LCP UK secures independent coffee shop at Hull’s Queens House
28th October 2026LCP UK, part of M Core, has let 1-5 King Edward Street and 2-8 Paragon Street at Queens House in Hull to independent coffee shop operator Coffee House. The Cheshire-founded operator has taken a 10-year lease for the 2,660 sq ft unit, which occupies a former bank which has been split into multiple units. The store is due to open in December and is the fifth letting at Queens House since LCP UK acquired the scheme earlier this year. One other unit remains under offer, with two available to let out of a total of 39 at Queens House. Coffee House opened its first store in Lymm 15 years ago and has since grown to over 50 stores across the North, the Midlands, and Wales while remaining independent. The business serves speciality coffee, chilled drinks, homemade cakes, and food. Tom Percy, asset manager at LCP UK, part of M Core, said: “Coffee House has built more than 50 stores across the North, the Midlands and Wales on the strength of its product and its people, and it has done so as an independent business. That is exactly the kind of operator we want at Queens House. Taking the corner of […]
Requirements
Costa Coffee brews up further expansion
8th September 2026Costa Coffee has unveiled its latest property requirements as it looks to continue its expansion across England, Scotland, and Wales. The coffee shop chain, working with its long-standing partner Savills, is looking to open new locations in retail parks and shopping centres, as well as on high streets and within travel locations. Costa Coffee is also looking to open drive-through units in out-of-town retail locations. Ideal units will range in size between 1,250 sq ft and 2,200 sq ft and be located adjacent to foodstores, retail warehousing, and leisure space. Within retail parks, Costa is seeking units ranging between 1,500 sq ft and 2,500 sq ft in size with external seating. Freestanding or in-line units will be considered, with nearby car parking a necessity. Ideal units will be situated in out-of-town locations with significant traffic flow, adjacent to foodstores, and retail and leisure clusters. In high street and shopping centre destinations, Costa is looking for units between 1,500 sq ft and 2,500 sq ft with outside seating. Locations such as universities, hospitals, and leisure destinations will also be considered. The operator is also looking to open new sites within travel locations such as transport hubs and train stations with significant […]
Insights
Q&A: Landsec’s portfolio director Clare Dutton: “we’re investing a lot into retail”
23rd October 2026Landsec is investing big in retail. The real estate investment trust recently snapped up the 1.86m sq ft Metrocentre shopping centre in Gateshead, and earlier this year touted major retail as a “more attractive” sector than office or residential development. In addition, Landsec has welcomed a number of ‘firsts’ to its portfolio: Garage opened its first store in the UK in Bluewater, while at Liverpool ONE, Lefties made its UK debut and Salomon opened its first store outside of London. As demand for prime shopping centre space creeps up, how does Landsec pick the right brands for the right spaces? Completely Retail News caught up with portfolio director Clare Dutton to discuss the landlord’s approach to selecting new tenants, which retailers are the most acquisitive, and the role of physical retail within shopping centres: How does Landsec identify the brands it wants to attract to its shopping centres? “We’re close to the market, so we know of the new brands that are acquisitive. We also have a lot of data, because we reach one in every two consumers in the UK, in respect to things that our customers are looking for. “So it’s a combination of knowing who’s in the […]
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
Oxford Properties names head of Europe and Asia-Pacific
29th October 2026Oxford Properties has named James Boadle as head of Europe and Asia Pacific (APAC), effective from 23rd November. In his new position, Boadle will lead Oxford Properties’ business across the two regions, which account for approximately one third of the group’s global portfolio. Boadle currently serves as senior vice president and head of asset management and development, Europe & APAC at Oxford Properties. He has almost two decades of real estate experience across the UK, continental Europe, and the Asia Pacific region, including almost 12 years with Oxford Properties. His experience encompasses investments, asset management and development, portfolio strategy, capital allocation, and partnerships across a range of sectors and investment structures. Boadle joined Oxford Properties’ European investments team in January 2015 and held a series of increasingly senior positions in the investment group and more latterly across the organisation. He was named vice president in 2019, became senior vice president of Europe in 2021, and assumed leadership of the European portfolio as head of asset management and development in 2024. His role expanded to incorporate leadership of the Asia Pacific portfolio in July 2026. During his time at Oxford Properties, Boadle has helped execute a number of the company’s investment […]
