Posts from July 2024

Colliers Global Investors has been revealed as the purchaser of a retail park in Weymouth sold by LondonMetric Property. The sale of Phase Two of Weymouth Gateway Retail Park was announced by LondonMetric on Thursday alongside a number of other retail and office disposals. The asset – which was purchased for £14.3m – spans 51,000 sq ft and is currently fully let to B&M, Dunelm, McDonald’s, and Costa Coffee. The scheme has a weighted average unexpired lease term to first break of 12 years. Liam Stray, senior associate at Allsop, which acted for Colliers Global Investors, said: “The completion of the deal demonstrates the strong investment opportunity and appeal of high-quality retail assets. Their strategic location, diverse tenant mix, and resilience to economic fluctuations make this a stable and attractive asset.” LondonMetric was advised by Park Place Retail.

News

CafeBar Nineteen62 opens first shopping centre location at Livingston Designer Outlet

Family-owned café and bar concept CafeBar Nineteen62 has opened its first ever shopping centre location at Livingston Designer Outlet. Spanning 3,789 sq ft, Cafebar Nineteen62 Livingston will become the operator’s third location, and will offer food and drink alongside a regular live music line-up. The venue will look to redefine the culinary offering at the designer outlet with its ‘dine or don’t’ tagline. Its offering isn’t defined by café, bar or restaurant status, allowing it to cater to the needs of individual customers. The venue also features an outdoor area suitable for all-year-round al fresco dining with 200 seats, private pods, and fire pits. Nicky Lovell, head of retail and business development at Global Mutual, said: “CafeBar Nineteen62 is a fresh and exciting concept with a visionary owner – we’re very excited as it really plays into our strategy of creating retail third spaces. Visitors need more than shops and by transforming the centre into a dynamic environment, which creates connections and cultivates customer loyalty, we are likely to see customers increasing dwell-time and repeat visitation. “Nineteen62 offers Livingston’s customers an opportunity to stay later – meeting friends, eating great food or having a cocktail and listening to live music....

Deals

St Christopher’s Place welcomes two new F&B tenants

St Christopher’s Place, the Central London estate owned by Columbia Threadneedle Investments’ Balanced Commercial Property Trust (BCPT), is set to welcome two new food and beverage operators. Sunday in Brooklyn, a modern American restaurant that serves brunch and dinner, has signed for a lease at 10/12 James Street and 13/14 Gees Court. The operator will occupy a newly-created anchor unit running from James Street to Gees Court, which will look to revitalise two entrance points to the estate. A full fit-out of the unit is currently underway with an opening expected imminently. BCPT has also exchanged an agreement for lease with Noreen, a new Middle Eastern restaurant concept, at 28-32 St Christopher’s Place, a double-fronted unit in the heart of the estate. In addition, Spanish restaurant and bar concept Bar Kroketa and Latin American-inspired all-day dining concept Morena have both agreed new leases. St Christopher’s Place comprises 172 lettable units and 40 buildings diversified across the retail, leisure, residential, and office sectors. Over the past 12 months, BCPT has shifted the tenant mix by repurposing retail units to place F&B operators at the heart of the estate’s offering. Between March 2023 and March 2024, the estate’s exposure to the F&B...

Deals News

OFFICE to make Milton Keynes return at Centre:mk

OFFICE has agreed a deal to join Centre:mk, as the international footwear retailer makes its return to Milton Keynes. Following the closure of its store at Midsummer Place, OFFICE has selected Centre:mk’s Silbury Arcade to bring its range of women’s, men’s, and kid’s footwear collections to Milton Keynes. Opening later this year, the 5,400 sq ft store will stock a range of footwear – from OFFICE’s own-brand styles to its collection of popular brands such as Adidas, Nike, Birkenstock, UGG, On Running, and New Balance. OFFICE will join Centre:mk’s existing line-up of leading fashion brands such as Mango, Reiss, and Mint Velvet, as well as other footwear retailers including Clarks, Skechers, and Kurt Geiger. Any products damaged in-store are set to be re-used, re-purposed, or recycled, in line with Centre:mk’s waste reduction initiatives, which have resulted in a 100% diversion from landfill. Kevin Duffy, centre director of Centre:mk’s, said: “OFFICE’s selection of Centre:mk is testament to the destination’s reputation as a leading regional centre and the brand will further strengthen our line-up of top-performing names in fashion and footwear. Partnering with brands that align with Centre:mk’s commitment to ESG practices is a significant part of our leasing and centre management...

Deals News

Currys to invest in 50 of its largest stores this year

Currys has announced a major investment into its store portfolio, with 50 of the retailer’s stores set to undergo a revamp this year. The electronics retailer said a blended in-store and online omnichannel model continues to be important to its customers, with two-thirds using stores to make their purchases. Under the new changes, the stores will see the introduction of new categories and seasonal showcases, as well as an improved focus on reinvigorating entrance space. New categories will include health and beauty, pet technology, portable power, and fitness – which the retailer said is in line with current consumer trends. Seasonal ranges will include the categories such as BBQs and gardening equipment in summer, back to school tech and supplies in the autumn, and new gifting ranges and services in winter. Currys’ investment into its ‘megastores’ has already begun, with its branches in Swindon, Merry Hill, Brentford, and Solihull recently relaunching. The retailer – which operates 301 stores in the UK and Ireland – recently announced that it would be reimagining the layouts of 65 of its medium-sized stores. Overall, this brings the total amount of stores that Currys plans to transform this year to 115. Matthew Speight, director of stores at Currys,...

News

M&S to open 10 new stores as part of convenience drive

Marks & Spencer is set to invest into its £1bn convenience business, with the retailer lining up the opening of 10 new stores in 2024. The retailer will also ‘renew’ a further 50 convenience stores this year. M&S said that by the end of the year it will be present in over 40 UK train stations, including at Ealing Broadway, where it opened last month, and in Belfast, where it will open in October. This comes as the retailer reopens its Liverpool Street Station Mezzanine store, the first ever M&S convenience store at a mainline railway station, which has been renewed in partnership with SSP. The store has been updated with an additional entrance, revamped chilled and floral sections, as well as the addition of freshly baked bakery products. New payment points have also been introduced, with additional self-service tills installed to reduce customer waiting times. First opened in November 2001, the Liverpool Street Mezzanine store remains an example of the M&S’s partnership with SSP. The group specialises in running travel food and drink outlets and currently runs 55 franchised M&S convenience stores across rail and air locations, as well as in some hospitals. Alex Freudmann, managing director of M&S...

News

KLM appointed to support American QSR brand’s UK rollout

Hospitality investment firm Azzurri has appointed KLM Real Estate to support the UK rollout of US quick service restaurant (QSR) brand Dave’s Hot Chicken. Founded in 2017, Dave’s Hot Chicken operates over 200 sites globally, and has now signed a franchise agreement with Azzurri to open in the UK, with a debut location set to open in London later this year. The brand is backed by big celebrity names such as Drake, Samuel L Jackson, and Usher, and is one of the fastest-growing restaurant brands in the US and on social media. Oli Marcroft, head of leisure at KLM Real Estate, said: ‘We are really excited to help Dave’s (Hot Chicken) to launch in the UK, having had the pleasure of experiencing their restaurants in LA earlier this year, we can’t wait to see the magic arrive in London” KLM Real Estate is initially looking for restaurants in Central London with a footprint of 2,000-3,000 sq ft.

News Requirements

LondonMetric sells £27m of retail and office assets

Real estate investment trust LondonMetric has announced the sale of five retail and office properties, in separate transactions, for a total of £26.7m. The largest of the assets is a 51,000 sq ft convenience-led retail asset in Weymouth, which has been sold for £14.3m. The property has a weighted average unexpired lease term (WAULT) to break of 12 years, and was recently developed by LondonMetric. The other retail assets included in the disposals are an 11,000 sq ft drive-through site in Birstall, which has been sold for £4.1m, as well as a 1,400 sq ft high street unit in Kingston, which fetched £1.2m. The Kingston asset was previously a part of the CT Property Trust, which LondonMetric acquired last year. LondonMetric has also disposed of a 19,000 sq ft office asset in High Wycombe for £3.9m, and a 15,000 sq ft office in Halesown, near Dudley, and adjacent land for a combined £3.2m. The assets have a WAULT to break of three and four years respectively. Andrew Jones, chief executive of LondonMetric, said: “These sales represent our exit from further non-core and lower growth assets where we have completed on our business plans. Since the end of March, we have...

Deals News

British streetwear brand makes homecoming in Manchester

Manchester Arndale has agreed a deal with British luxury streetwear brand Represent for its first permanent retail store outside of London. The Manchester-born fashion retailer has agreed to take a 5,419 sq ft unit on New Cathedral Street, which sits opposite to Manchester Arndale and is home to retailers such as Harvey Nichols, Zara, Paul Smith, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, and Michael Kors. Founded in 2011 by brothers George and Mike Heaton, Represent’s clothing is inspired by retro Mancunian designs and has been showcased at top global fashion destinations including New York and Milan. The brand currently has a bespoke store in West Hollywood as well as a recently-announced space in London’s Soho. After a number of successful pop-up activations in London and Manchester with the likes of Selfridges, Flannels, and Harrods, the new Manchester store will be Represent’s first permanent location outside of the capital. George Heaton, creative director and founder of Represent: “We are very excited to open our first UK retail store in Manchester, our hometown and base. The Represent Manchester location marks an important and iconic milestone for the brand; having spent the past three years planning physical retail footprints, trailing the senses of energy, look,...

Deals News

Co-op and EG Group sign new franchise agreement

Co-op and EG On The Move, EG Group’s retained petrol forecourt business, have signed a new franchise agreement to trial seven convenience stores in the UK. The new stores will launch this summer with the first set to open in Doncaster this week. Co-op is aiming to scale its franchise business to over 500 sites by 2030, and in addition to petrol forecourts is also focusing on independent convenience retailers, universities, and healthcare. Jerome Saint-Marc, managing director of B2B and growth at Co-op, said: “We are hugely excited to be working with EG On The Move on these new franchise sites and to be able to bring our Co-op franchise offer to more locations. “This is part of our broader expansion in the petrol forecourt market. It follows our strategy to pivot our growth in this market through franchise, growing our presence and enabling us to best utilise our expertise and offer in convenience. “As part of the Co-op’s overall growth plans, growing our franchise stores is a key priority for us and we have ambitious and exciting plans to significantly increase our franchise footprint and become the partner of choice across a range of sectors. “We’ve got an excellent market proposition....

Deals News

Wetherspoon offloads 26 pubs

JD Wetherspoon has sold or surrendered to the landlord 26 pubs in the year-to-date, leaving it with a trading estate of 801 venues. The pub chain said that most of the disposals were smaller and older pubs, or in areas where it has a second pub in close proximity. JD Wetherspoon said the disposals produced a net cash inflow of £8.7m. The chain currently has 10 trading pubs which are on the market or under offer. This comes as the group posts a pre-close trading update, with its preliminary results set to be published in October. In the year-to-date, the chain’s like-for-like sales were up by 7.7%, and the group estimates that its net debt will be approximately £670 million at the end of the financial year. JD Wetherspoon also announced that it had signed a new four-year £840 million banking agreement on “attractive terms” earlier this month. Tim Martin, chair of JD Wetherspoon, said: “The gradual recovery in sales and profits, following the pandemic, has continued in the current financial year. “Total sales are, again, at record levels, with fewer pubs. Sales per pub are approximately 21% higher than pre-pandemic levels, which has helped to compensate for the very...

News

The Gym Group on track to open up to 12 sites this year

The Gym Group has said it is on track to open between 10 and 12 new sites by the end of the year. This comes as the group releases a trading update for the first half of 2024, a period during which it opened four new gyms, bringing its total estate to 237 sites. The operator is also in the fitout stage of the next four new sites which are expected to open soon. During the period – which comprised the six months ending 30 June – the gym operator recorded a year-on-year increase in revenue of 12% to £112.1m, which membership reaching 905,000, compared to 867,000 at the same point a year prior. Average revenue per member per month during the first half of the year was up by 9% year-on-year to £20.44, whilst like-for-like revenue grew 9% year-on-year. In June, The Gym Group also completed a refinancing of its bank debt with its existing banking group comprising NatWest, HSBC and Barclays. The new three-year facility is made up of a £45m term loan and a £45m revolving credit facility. Will Orr, CEO of The Gym Group, said: “We are making encouraging progress with our strategic priorities under our...

News

Trio of tenants sign for Chelsea’s One Twenty King’s Road

London-based real estate investment firm Crosstree Real Estate Partners has signed a trio of tenants to its One Twenty King’s Road Development in Chelsea. Crosstree has transformed the formerly redundant and out-of-date Kings Walk Shopping Centre into a green mixed-use development, which has seen the space increase from 55,000 sq ft to 84,000 sq ft to incorporate a wide mix of uses, including retail, office, and leisure space. Leading the signings is Whole Foods Market, the Amazon-owned multinational supermarket chain, which has signed a 15-year lease to occupy 21,000 sq ft on the ground floor and basement. Also joining the development is apparel, footwear, and accessories group BasicNet, which has signed a 10-year lease for 6,500 sq ft of space. The store will showcase the likes of outerwear brand K-WAY, trainer brand Superga, and heritage leather shoe brand Sebago. In addition, Crosstree has also let 37,000 sq ft of office space to a single global corporate occupier on the first to fourth floors. James Clarke, development director at Crosstree Real Estate Partners, said: “One Twenty King’s Road follows our One Berkeley Street development in Mayfair in bringing a high quality, highly sustainable mixed-use development to a prime London location. While...

Deals News

Majestic Wine has taste for expansion as agent appointed