News

Eurofund Group appoints new asset management director

Pan-European investment, development, and real estate management group Eurofund Group has appointed Christina Lusk as an asset management director to support its UK retail portfolio expansion. She joins from NewRiver REIT, having previously held the position of asset management director at Ellandi LLP prior to its acquisition by NewRiver in 2024. In this role, Lusk was responsible for a portfolio of flagship destinations including Highcross in Leicester and The Broadway in Bradford. Prior to Ellandi, Lusk was at Hines, where she re-anchored The Centre, Livingston and led the redevelopment of the adjoining Almondvale West Retail Park. In her new role, Lusk will work across all of Eurofund Group’s UK retail asset management mandates and will be responsible for overseeing their strategic direction. Alberto Esguevillas, CEO of UK retail at Eurofund, said: “As we continue to expand our UK portfolio, we’re committed to building further strength in depth across our asset management platform. Christina’s pedigree, alongside her detailed understanding of one of our flagship assets, make her a valuable and welcome addition to the team”.

Deals

Multi-Realm secures Adidas opening at Resorts World Birmingham

Multi-Realm has secured the signing of Adidas at Resorts World Birmingham. The sportswear retailer will open a 8,125 sq ft outlet store at the end of November. Spanning 538,000 sq ft, Resorts World Birmingham is located at the NEC, which now hosts regular fitness, sports, and running shows as well as the popular Hyrox concept. Louise Evans, asset management and leasing director at Multi-Realm, said: “Bringing in Adidas, for our client Genting, at Resorts World Birmingham is fantastic news. The new store will open in time for Christmas shopping and capitalise on the strong sports athleisure category performance that Resorts World Birmingham has become known for. Outlet shoppers have shown significant year-round appetite for the leading brands in this category and we have no doubt that Adidas will be incredibly popular at Resorts World Birmingham” Owned by the Genting Group and open since 2015, Resorts World Birmingham brings together nearly 40 outlet retailers and F&B operators, combining them with a hotel, spa, cinema, and a casino.  Adidas will join the established Nike Factory Store at Resorts World, strengthening the scheme’s sportswear retail offer. Jason Kirsch, director of operations at Resorts World Birmingham, said: “Welcoming Adidas is a real statement of […]

Requirements

Costa Coffee brews up further expansion

Costa 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

The rise of ‘treatonomics’: how changing spending patterns are affecting retail destinations

Times 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

By 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

Lone Star hands Aberdeen’s Union Square £175m price tag

Lone Star Funds has appointed Knight Frank to market Aberdeen’s Union Square, with an asking price of £175m. Extending to 550,000 sq ft, Union Square is the dominant retail provision in Aberdeen and comprises a retail park alongside an enclosed retail and leisure mall. The scheme has recently seen the upsize of of M&S into a new 100,000 sq ft anchor unit on the retail park, with other recent upsizes at centre including Tk Maxx and Apple. New lettings at Union Square include Ikea, Mango, Schuh, Victoria’s Secret, Hobbs, The Entertainer, and Wing Stop. Other tenants include JD and Next in the retail park and Zara, H&M, and Cineworld in the mall. Charlie Barke, head of capital markets at Knight Frank, said: “Union Square is a huge success story and its recent lettings, substantial tenant investment, rental trajectory and strong trading platform are exactly what you want to see from a thriving retail asset with strong sustainability credentials. Combined with a superb economic backstory to this exceptional city, further boosted by recent support for opening-up the oil and gas fields at Jackdaw and Rosebank, the future here looks incredibly bright.”