News
AEW UK REIT offloads £8.15m Devon retail park
9th November 2026AEW UK REIT has sold Barnstaple Retail Park in Devon for £8.15m, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.5%. The 51,000 sq ft retail park was originally acquired by AEW UK in October 2015 for £6.79m, reflecting a net initial yield of 8.5%. The 2026 sale price represents a premium of £1.36m, or 20% compared to the purchase price, following landlord capital expenditure over the ownership period of approximately £230,000. During AEW UK’s, the scheme saw several asset management initiatives that increased income and strengthened the park’s tenant profile. These included lettings to Wren Kitchens and Farmfoods, alongside a lease regear with anchor tenant B&Q. The regear secured a 15-year term certain and increased annual rent by £80,280, contributing to a £900,000 uplift in the property’s valuation in December 2025, equivalent to approximately 12%. With the next lease event not due until 2029 and rental income broadly in line with market levels, the asset manager considers there to be limited scope for further income growth in the short to medium term. AEW UK said the sale proceeds will be reinvested in its higher-yielding investment pipeline, in line with its active capital allocation strategy. This is expected to enhance earnings once […]
Deals
Urban Playground tees up 15,000 sq ft Putters venue at Canary Wharf
6th November 2026Urban Playground, the group behind the CUBE gaming experience, is bringing immersive crazy golf experience Putters to London’s Canary Wharf. Following the successful launch of Putters at Manchester Arndale, the operator will open a 15,000 sq ft space featuring an 18-hole course with live scoreboards, on-screen animation, and audio. The venue will also offer pizza from Stretch & Bake and buttermilk chicken from Chick Chick Boom, alongside a cocktail bar. Stuart Fyfe, managing director of retail, leisure, and hospitality at Canary Wharf Group, said: “Everyone loves crazy golf and we’re excited to see them open at Canary Wharf. Its fresh take on crazy golf is just the kind of experience-led concept our visitors, workers and residents look for, and it adds something new to our growing daytime, evening and weekend offer. Leisure continues to perform strongly and is an essential part of our placemaking which attracts people to the district. “More people are choosing Canary Wharf than ever before with visitor numbers tracking ahead of last year’s record-breaking total. With 99% of the estate’s retail and leisure space occupied, there’s never been more to see, eat, buy and do at the Wharf.” Edward Mellors, CEO at Urban Playground, added: “We’re […]
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
Cheshire retail park handed £21.8m price tag
6th November 2026A retail park in Macclesfield, Cheshire has been brought to the investment market with an asking price of £21,785,000, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.75%. Constructed in 2022, Barracks Mill Retail Park extends to approximately 79,112 sq ft and is supplemented by 325 car parking spaces. The fully-let scheme is home to tenants including Aldi, M&S, B&M, Farmfoods, Costa, KFC, and BP Pulse, and has a weighted average unexpired lease term of 12.3 years to expiry and 10.9 years to break. Aldi, M&S, and Farmfoods account for over half the scheme’s total passing rent of £1,337,970 per annum. Barracks Mill Retail Park is situated alongside the A523, which provides access to Manchester to the north and Leek to the south, and sits adjacent to a Tesco Supermarket. Other nearby retail provision includes Lyme Green Retail Park, Silk Road Retail Park, and a B&Q and Halfords cluster. Macclesfield is an affluent market town that benefits from rail connections to Manchester and London and is in close proximity to the Peak District National Park. The town is experiencing continued residential growth, with a number of significant housing developments under construction or progressing through the planning process. Rosebury Real Estate has been […]
