News
Bath & Body Works to make East Midlands debut at Nottingham’s Victoria Centre
8th May 2026Bath & Body Works is set to open its first store in the East Midlands at the Victoria Centre in Nottingham. The retailer will take a 1,700 sq ft on the scheme’s Lower Mall, offering a range of fragrance-led body care products, home scents, and seasonal collections. This latest signing follows the recent opening of Victoria’s Secret at Victoria Centre, which has taken a 6,000 sq ft store, making its city debut. The brand joins an established line-up of retailers at the scheme including Rituals, Levi’s, and Urban Outfitters. Rebecca Milnes-James, asset manager at Pradera, said: “Securing Bath & Body Works is a significant milestone for Victoria Centre, and a strong endorsement of the destination’s performance and positioning within Nottingham. We remain focused on curating a best-in-class retail mix that drives unrivalled footfall and customer engagement, and Bath & Body Works is a natural fit, bringing a highly experiential offer that will resonate strongly with our visitors.” A representative from Bath & Body Works added: “Victoria Centre is the perfect location for our East Midlands debut, with the destination’s strong reputation and high footfall making it an obvious choice as the next step in our UK expansion. We are excited […]
Deals
Dalton Park Outlet to expand fashion lineup with Belstaff addition
7th May 2026Dalton Park Outlet in the North East is set to expand its fashion lineup with the addition of Belstaff. The British fashion retailer – which was acquired by Castore in 2025 – will join the outlet shopping centre, located in County Durham, this June. Belstaff joins the existing fashion lineup at Dalton Park Outlet that includes the likes of Calvin Klein, Castore, Levi’s and Tommy Hilfiger. Nicky Lovell, head of outlets and retail business development at Global Mutual, said: “Belstaff is a highly desirable British brand with a loyal following. We are confident the store will thrive at Dalton Park. We are continually working to secure leading fashion brands – ensuring that our retail mix is relevant and drives sustained footfall and spend growth. The addition of Belstaff is testament to the ongoing appeal of Dalton Park and the hard work and dedication of the team.” The signing comes after Belstaff opened its first store outside of London at Victoria Leeds in September 2024.
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 wellness trend: improving the health of UK high streets?
30th April 2026From saunas to sound baths, vitamin injections to vitality checks, wellness-led concepts are quickly reshaping the nation’s high streets. The rise has been rapid, but there seems to be plenty of growth potential for the future – creating exciting opportunities in retail property.
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
Up to 150 former WHSmith stores could close in restructuring plans
7th May 2026Up to 150 former WHSmith high street stores could close as part of a restructuring plan. A spokesperson for private equity firm Modella Capital, which owns the rebranded TGJones stores, said the retailer had faced “highly challenging trading conditions over the past year”. Modella acquired WHSmith’s high street estate last year in a deal worth approximately £40m. The retailer’s travel division and intellectual property was not included. The firm said the challenges were partly due to the “forced” name change to TGJones, saying that the change negatively impacted public awareness of the brand. Other named factors included rising operating costs and recent geopolitical events. The spokesperson added: “The restructuring plan is designed to protect the substantial core of the store estate and create a stronger, more sustainable business that can continue to serve customers for years to come.” This comes after another Claire’s, another Modella Capital-owned brand, closed 154 stores last month after ceasing trading.
