News
The White Company opens 75th store at Lakeside
26th March 2026The White Company has opened its 75th store in the UK and Ireland and its second in Essex at Lakeside Shopping Centre. The new store, located on the scheme’s upper level, extends to approximately 5,900 sq ft, with 3,700 sq ft of trading space. The store joins The White Company’s existing location at Bluewater Shopping Centre just eight miles away, and showcases a product offering that includes homeware, clothing, fragrance, and childrenswear. Kelly Clarke, chief people and retail officer at The White Company, said: “We’re delighted to be opening in Lakeside, bringing The White Company’s signature style to even more shoppers in Essex. From timeless home pieces to effortless everyday essentials, the new store reflects our ongoing commitment to investing in the UK high street and we look forward to welcoming customers to explore and enjoy our latest collections.” Nancy Foster, centre director at Lakeside Shopping Centre, added: “As a brand synonymous with quality, timeless design and thoughtful gifting, The White Company is a perfect addition to our premium retail line-up, and we have no doubt our guests will be excited to shop their fantastic home and lifestyle offering.”
Deals
Crew Clothing opening pair of new stores this spring
26th March 2026Crew Clothing is opening two new stores, located in Buxton, Derbyshire and Lytham, Lancashire this spring. The Buxton store, which has already opened, is located at 50A-52 Spring Gardens and spans 1,100 sq ft of retail space. The Lytham store will open later this spring at 58 Clifton Street, and will extend to approximately 1,200 sq ft. Both stores will offer Crew Clothing’s latest collections for men, women, and children. This includes heritage rugby shirts, polos and Oxford shirts, printed dresses and knitwear. Carol Kane, head of retail at Crew Clothing, said: “We’re really pleased to be opening in both Buxton and Lytham this spring. These are two fantastic locations with strong local communities and a great affinity for the brand. As we continue to build on a successful period of retail growth, these openings are a natural next step in bringing Crew to even more customers across the UK.” These openings form part of Crew Clothing’s continued expansion, with further locations planned throughout 2026 as the brand looks to strengthen its presence across key towns and shopping destinations.
Requirements
Wahaca appoints agents to support UK expansion
25th March 2026P-Three has been appointed by contemporary Mexican restaurant group Wahaca to support its rollout across the UK. The retail, leisure, and placemaking agency is targeting launches in new cities including Cambridge, Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham, as well as expanding the group’s presence in London. P-Three is seeking units ranging between 2,500 sq ft and 4,500 sq ft in size, which will be converted into Wahaca’s style, inspired by the modern culture seen in contemporary Oaxaca. Thomas Rose, co-founder at P-Three, said: “Wahaca has firmly established itself as one of the UK’s most authentic and lively restaurant groups, offering diners a bold, fresh and modern take on Mexican street food. A longstanding client of P-Three, we are excited to be supporting Wahaca with this next phase of growth and look forward to helping them bring their concept to new cities and locations across the UK.” Mark Selby, co-founder and chair at Wahaca, added: “After the huge success of our Paddington opening in 2024 and the incredible feedback on Wahaca Reimagined across our 14 individually designed restaurants, we are excited to be once again looking to bring Wahaca’s unique restaurant experience to different areas of the UK. We want to find buildings that lend […]
Insights
Under new ownership: What’s next for Huddersfield’s Kingsgate Shopping Centre?
9th March 2026Kingsgate Shopping Centre in Huddersfield was recently acquired by Northdale Advisors for approximately £32m. The 280,000 sq ft scheme was sold by WD Ltd at the end of last year after 23 years of ownership. But what’s next for Kingsgate Shopping Centre under its new ownership? Completely Retail News were given an exclusive tour of the centre, and spoke to asset manager Steve Bateman about the future of the scheme. “When I started in asset management, tenant mix was the priority, especially with a focus on bringing in big names in fashion”, says Bateman, “but the whole sector has changed.” “The question as an asset manager is: how do you reposition a centre to suit its catchment?”, he asks. Bateman has been involved with Kingsgate for nearly two years prior to Northdale’s acquisition, and previously worked on assets such as the Victoria Centre in Harrogate and Woolshops in Halifax. He also spent 15 years at LaSalle Investment Management, working on asset management mandates of varying sizes across the country. (pictured: Steve Bateman) To understand Kingsgate Shopping Centre it’s important to understand Huddersfield as a whole. The Yorkshire town has a history that’s based in the textiles industry, thus becoming a […]
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
Piccadilly Circus island site handed £450m price tag
26th March 2026Landsec has placed a landmark island site at London’s Piccadilly Circus on the investment market with a guide price of £450m. The one acre site, known as Lucent, opened in 2023 and comprises 188,000 sq ft of mixed-use space. The retail element spans 58,000 sq ft and comprises four units on Regent Street and Shaftesbury Avenue, let to tenants including Boots and Lindt. The sale would include the freehold that underpins Piccadilly Lights – the largest advertising screen in Western Europe – with Landsec continuing to operate the digital infrastructure on a new 250-year leasehold and retaining 95% of its net operating income. Savills – which has been appointed to handle the sale alongside investment bank Lazard – said a sale completed at the £450m guide price would make it the largest single sale in London’s West End since 2022. Paul Cockburn, director in the Central London investment team at Savills, said: “This Picadilly Circus site is world-renowned and represents an incredibly rare opportunity to buy not just a high-profile freehold asset in London’s West End but also a high-quality new development completed only two years ago. “This is a highly successful scheme that was largely pre-let and so is […]
