Posts from February 2023

Reading-based commercial agents Haslams Surveyors and Sharps Commercial are due to merge on March 1st, trading under the name of the former. The merger will enable the two firms to consolidate market share, extend resources, and widen market intelligence, says Haslams Surveyors. The two firms hope the move will enable them to take a stronger hold on the sale, letting, and development of commercial property in Berkshire, Hampshire, and Oxfordshire. Neil Seager, managing partner at Haslams Surveyors, said: “We have long recognised a synergy of vision and quality with Sharps Commercial. In joining forces, we can better ensure all our clients gain the advantage of our personal, focused and forward thinking approach across an even wider spectrum of property services.” Alec White, director at Sharps Commercial, added: “With unparalleled access to occupier requirements throughout the region, we will be ideally placed to monitor rental and investment values in key Thames Valley centres and the wider south-east, matching clients’ properties to market demand.”

News

Grand acquisition for Fattal Hotel Group

Israeli hotel group Fattal has acquired Brighton’s iconic Grand Hotel in a deal worth up to £60m. The acquisition of the 201-bedroom, five-star seafront hotel means the group now operates three hotels in Brighton, alongside the Leonardo Brighton Hotel and the Leonardo Royal Brighton Waterfront. Fattal said it plans to make a significant investment to refurbish the hotel, which opened in 1864, while maintaining its status and title. The Grand saw a refurbishment in 2019 to restore some of its original design features. The hotel group has also recently acquired the Dilly Hotel on Piccadilly, which Fattal says will see a £90m refurbishment. The group was founded by former hotel waiter David Fattal in 1998 as a hotel management company. Fattal has since grown into a multinational group, operating 52 sites across the UK and Ireland. Jason Carruthers, managing director of Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland, described the Grand as “historic and iconic”. “It is a consistently high-performing hotel, situated in a key strategic location with highly dedicated employees, meaning it is an ideal fit to our broader portfolio”, he added.

Deals News

Asda poaches Aldi director in leadership shake-up

Asda is set to make a number of changes to its senior leadership team, after poaching rival Aldi’s group director of marketing and communications. David Hills will join the supermarket retailer later this year, taking over as chief customer officer. Hills has worked at Aldi since 2007, where he has held a number of senior commercial roles before becoming director of marketing and communications in 2013. Prior to working at the discount grocer, he also worked at Kellogg’s in the UK and Australia for nine years. Acting chief customer officer for Asda, Sam Dickson, will remain in the role until Hills’ arrival, after which he will assume responsibility for Asda and George brand propositions. Asda also announced the departure of retail & logistics director Ken Towle, who leaves the company a year after joining from Nisa.

News

Time Out pulls plug on Spitalfields venture

Media and hospitality group Time Out has pulled out of plans to open a market in London’s Spitalfields, after the group spent six years pushing to secure planning permission for the site. The proposals for a 20,000 sq ft food market at 106 Commercial Road, E1, were pulled with Time Out blaming the drawn-out approval process. The plans, which would see a disused Grade II listed office block converted to accommodate 12 permanent kitchens, were withdrawn with the support of the building’s landlord, Truman Brewery. Time Out operates a number of curated markets in across Europe, the United States, Canada, and the Middle East. The proposals were recommended for approval by councillors last July, but the final decision was deferred and the issue has since not been brought in front of Tower Hamlet’s development committee since then. A Time Out spokesperson said: “It is regrettable that, although recommended for approval by planning officers, the Tower Hamlets Development Committee chose to defer its decision on our application in 2022 after a process which has already taken several years and during which we addressed all prior concerns. With an expectation of the process being drawn out by further delays we have decided...

News

Revo makes number of board appointments

Real estate community Revo has welcomed a number of new additions to its board, as the forum looks to “drive retail and placemaking innovation in 2023 and beyond”. Dan Parr, vice principal at CACI, Sara Boonham, sector lead for town and city centre regeneration at Gleeds and Caroline Main, head of retail at MAPP, all join Revo’s operating board. Parr has worked at CACI for 26 years while Main has previous experience at Workman and DTZ. Boonham has previously worked at Gardiner & Theobald, James R Knowles, and Wakemans. They will join the group’s existing board members; Yvonne Boyd, Neil Hockin of Lunson Mitchenall, Vivienne King of The Good Economy, and Sturt Harris of Milligan. Revo has also announced the departure of Catherine Lambert, Michelle Buxton, and Alan Anthony, from its board. On behalf of the board, Neil Hockin said: “We’re delighted to welcome Dan, Sara and Caroline to the board at this exciting time for the organisation and our industry. “Revo continues to support and lead the retail and placemaking industry and provide our members with a forum to express their views, engage in thought leadership and network together”.

News

Seven-day-a-week food market to launch in Edinburgh

Edinburgh is set to launch its first seven-day-a-week market on February 25 at the city’s Omni Center. Backdropped by Carlton Hill, the 9687 sq ft dining space on Leith Street, called Edinburgh Street Food, will feature overhead cover, outdoor heating, and a 250-seater outdoor garden. The scheme will work solely with local artists, traders and brewers, and will play host to ten permanent kitchens, with a number of pop-up vans, trucks, and stalls complementing the offering. Some of the brands available on the menu are 2023 UK & European street food winners Junk, best newcomer at the Edinburgh Restaurant Awards 2022 Bundits, and Scotland’s 2022 street food winners Antojitos. Three bars at the site will also provide support to Edinburgh’s local breweries, distilleries and soft drinks producers. The draught beers available on launch will hail entirely from Scotland, with 70% brewed in Edinburgh. Edinburgh Street Food will also play host to over 150 live events per year. The venture was started up by Andrew Marshall and Ben MacMillan of the Carlowrie Group, and has been bolstered by recent appointments including Andrew Burton, who was previously head of commercial and estate operations at the Edinburgh International Festival and director of hospitality...

Deals News

Nearly 15,000 jobs lost in retail in 2023

Almost 15,000 retail workers have lost their jobs so far in 2023, after a spate of closures amongst a number of retailers. The collapses of both M&Co and Paperchase have seen all stores belonging to the retailers close down, while Tile Giant has also been sold in a pre-pack deal leading to further closures. Tesco is another retailer that has seen a number of its staff lose out, with a management shake-up putting 1,750 jobs at risk. Data from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) revealed that 14,874 retail workers have been made redundant in 2023, with a total of 675 stores closing. The majority of these job losses (11,689) came from regular aspects of business or cost-cutting programmes, as opposed to jobs lost to administration. This comes after it was revealed that 2022 was the worst year in five for store closures, according to the CRR. High rents, a change in consumer habits, increased spending on leisure and online retailing, and the effects of the Pandemic are all reasons cited by the CRR as to why the numbers of store closures and job losses are so high. Retail is not the only industry struggling however, with research recently revealing...

Insights News

Marks & Spencer to close up to seven stores in shake-up

Marks & Spencers will be closing or relocating up to seven of its stores, despite recently announcing that it would be opening 20 new stores as part of a £480m investment. The retailer announced the shake-up with a spokesperson for the company stating that the changes ere part of a wider rotation strategy and that M&S would be opening more stores than it closes. The spokesperson said: “We recently announced that we are investing £480m in bigger, better stores across the UK. Our store rotation and investment programme is about making sure we have the right stores, in the right place, with the right space. “Whilst our store rotation programme involves closing some stores, it also means relocating and opening new stores in locations across the country.” The stores which are set to close include sites at Meadowbank Retail Park in Edinburgh, East Kilbride Shopping Centre, and Newport Road in Cardiff. M&S stores in Castleford, Middlesbrough, and Bolton, have been recommended for closure with the processes under consultation, while one store in Wrexham is poised for relocation. This follows a recent announcement from M&S that the retailer will be providing a pay rise to over 40,000 of its staff, its...

News

Aldi looking to expand London estate

Aldi is looking to create around 2,400 jobs as it looks to open more London stores as part of its multi-million-pound expansion plans. The supermarket retailer is aiming to nearly double its 60-strong portfolio within the Capital, with Aldi on track to open its 1,000th UK store later on in the year. The grocer is also looking for sites for its smaller format, Aldi Local, which measure around 5,000 sq ft in size. Aldi is offering finders fees of either 1.5% of a freehold price or 10% on rent for the first year for leasehold sites to agents who can help the retailer identify sites. Aldi says ideal sites will be able to accommodate 20,000 sq ft of space for its stores as well as provide room for 100 dedicated parking spots. The retailer is targeting empty office blocks and new housing locations as well as town centre or edge-of-centre sites. Ben Shotter, regional managing director at Aldi, said: “We’re conscious that there are still many areas, particularly in the capital and within the M25, that don’t have access to an Aldi.” He added that although Aldi is primarily eyeing up sites within the Capital, the retailer is also looking...

News

Capital & Regional makes director appointment

UK shopping centre real estate investment trust (REIT) Capital & Regional has appointed Panico Theocharides as a non-executive director. Joining on February 22, Theocharides replaces the outgoing George Muchnaya as one of fellow REIT Growthpoint’s nominees. Theocharides, who recently joined Growthpoint as head of investments, has over 20 years of experience in the real estate sector, having spent the majority of his career working in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed real estate sector. Theocharides has worked as an independent property consultant for the last five years, and has also previously held roles as head of property advisory for corporate finance at Investec in South Africa, as well as joint chief executive of Annuity Properties, where he helped list the firm on the Johannesburg stock exchange. Panico Theocharides said: “Capital & Regional’s strategy of focusing on dominant urban community shopping centres positions it well to both meet the needs of the local neighbourhoods it serves and deliver returns for shareholders. I believe the Company is well placed to continue to take advantage of changing retail habits and navigate the UK macro environment.”

News

Centre:mk to welcome Mango

Mango is due to open a new store at centre:mk this summer. The new location will have a selling space of over 4,500 sq ft and will exclusively distribute the Mango Woman collection. The signing follows a strong 2022 performance for centre:mk with footfall up 31% on 2021, outperforming industry benchmarks. Kevin Duffy, Centre Director at centre:mk, commented: “We are so proud of the continued upward momentum of centre:mk’s success. As a destination, we consistently outperform national benchmarks due to the appeal of our stores including one of the strongest anchor line-ups in the UK, including John Lewis & Partners, H beauty, M&S, Primark, Next and TK Maxx, and the signing of Mango is no exception to this; its commitment to the destination reaffirms centre:mk as a leading destination for internationally renowned retailers, and we are delighted to be welcoming Mango to the centre this year.” Mango is the latest in a series of centre:mk openings, following Ted Baker, Charles Tyrwhitt, itsu, Cosy Club and Loupe last year.

Deals News

Cath Kidston owner considering sale 8 months after takeover

Hilco Capital are exploring a sale of Cath Kidston after buying the brand in June 2022. The investment firm has appointed PwC to advise on the potential sale and has already been approached by several bidders according to Sky News. It is unclear whether any interested buyers would seek to take control of the whole company. Prior to Hilco’s takeover, Cath Kidston was bought out of administration in 2020 by Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA). The business relaunched three years ago and achieved a sales total of £29m for the year ended 31 March 2022. The brand had a series of stores but currently operates from just four of its own outlets and 95 shop-in-shops, as well as their website.

News

Green light for £2.25m Nottingham scheme

Permission has been granted for a commercial scheme on the site of the former Lloyds TSB Bank in Mapperley, Nottingham. Hillcrest Properties is planning to build a 4,000 sq. ft restaurant and bar, four apartments, four offices and a 1,000 sq. ft retail unit, valued at £2.25m. The property company has confirmed work will begin over the coming weeks and ready for occupation before the end of the year. Landa Associates have been appointed to find an operator for the new restaurant, as well as tenants for the office and retail space. Sunny Landa FRICS, a director at Landa Associates who will be leading the marketing, said: “This scheme is yet to hit the market, but we are already being inundated with interest from major operators. “Demand for these sorts of properties located in affluent areas is at an all-time high. This development will help satisfy that by bringing new high-quality space to this part of Nottingham. We are confident that the prestigious location coupled with the ambitious plans our client has for the development will stimulate economic growth and job creation.”

Deals

Harvey Nichols appoints new ecommerce director

Sweaty Betty executive Annabel Thorburn has been appointed as ecommerce director for Harvey Nichols. According to Drapers, Thorburn will join the business on 17th April, succeeding Kate Smyth, who has been working in the role on an interim basis. Malhotra said: “I am absolutely delighted that Annabel Thorburn will be joining Harvey Nichols as ecommerce director. Annabel brings a wealth of retail leisure and consultancy experience, most recently at Sweaty Betty, and, I am sure, will make an extremely positive contribution alongside the rest of our board. “Harvey Nichols continues to invest in online, evolving both the product and services we offer digitally. We are focussed on delivering more for our customers, from the launch of our rewards programme available through our app, to the ever-growing range of brands and products we offer, including our fabulous new range of hampers. “This year, we have an exciting roadmap of projects and launches that will help us deliver and even more exceptional service for our customers, and we are excited to have Annabel lead that change.”

News

Newcastle Station Hotel brings in record profit for Cairn Group

Hospitality company Cairn Group has revealed record results with profits of over £100m. The owner and developer has beaten pre-pandemic levels with a jump from £34.1m to £109.4m in the year ended April 2022. Its workforce also grew over 2022, increasing from 1,710 to 2,124 employees. Cairn Group’s business model involves purchasing and developing leisure properties, focussing on hotels, and reinvesting profits to maintain standards across their portfolio. The group currently owns and 32 hotels including Elmbrook Hotel and Cairn Hotel in Edinburgh, Redworth Hall and Spa near Newton Aycliffe and the Hilton Doubletree near Newcastle Airport. Having paused all development activity in the pandemic, the firm announced it was restarting its investment programme last year. In a report the directors said: “The recovery from the impacts of Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions in 2020 and early 2021 has been quicker and more remarkable than was expected at the beginning of the financial year. The opportunity was taken to holistically reconsider business models at every hospitality venue, and initiatives and programmes implemented to deliver value for guests against a more efficient cost base have ensured the group’s current performance and position is ahead of all expectations.” Cairn CFO and managing director...

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How dreams can become reality

Rob Barnes of Bruce Gillingham Pollard looks at how to assess approaches from people who want to turn a new retailing or hospitality concept into a physical trading space. Immediately after every summer or Christmas holiday period agents get a steady flow of calls from people who, whilst away from work, have had ideas about a new retail or hospitality concept, whose success could liberate them from their day job. It can be easy to be cynical, but there can be some great ideas which will eventually translate into a successful independent business. To sift the fanciful from the thought-out, we first look for a well-considered business plan. No matter how original an idea is, it must be backed up by financial projections and an achievable timeline. Most landlords are keen to nurture new independent occupiers if they can demonstrate that they have thought through their idea and even market-tested it. If a landlord is going to provide a rent-free period, they want to see that the business is going to be able to pay the rent when the time comes. This needs to be covered in a business plan, detailing the businesses revenue forecasts throughout the lease term, its...

Insights

Geisha Restaurant to secure more UK locations

Asian restaurant Geisha plan to expand the brand after securing significant investment. Geisha Italia grill will be opening in the downstairs of former Casa Antonio site in Benton, Newcastle, in March 2023. Shortly after Geisha Asia will open in the upstairs of the building. The brands colourful garden themes, botanical murals and hanging lanterns have made it an Instagrammable venue attracting celebrities including Newcastle United defender Kieran Tripper, Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby and Love Island’s Lillie Haynes. Geisha Restaurant announced it had secured financial backing with the support of Lee Humble of Azets, to launch further Geisha restaurants throughout the UK. Mr Humble said: “The Geisha experience is truly unique and Azets are very thrilled to be part of journey. The future of the Geisha brand is looking very exciting.” Mr Gardner confirmed further potential Geisha locations are now being selected throughout the UK, thanks to the financial injection of private equity capital. “Our new site in Benton will see us expanding the Geisha brand into Italian cuisine. The opening of Geisha Asia and Geisha Italia Grill is just the beginning, we have big plans for Geisha, allowing the people of the UK to experience the best dishes and...

Deals News

Birmingham’s £360m ‘green’ regeneration to be approved