One year on: Park Place Retail on their first anniversary
It’s been one year to the day since the launch of Park Place Retail. Founded last November by eight former Avison Young colleagues, the firm specialises in retail warehousing, providing advice on the out-of-town retail, food store, and leisure sectors.
Having also worked together at Wilkinson Williams prior to their time at Avison Young, the founding team has advised on a significant number of prominent investment and leasing deals over the past three decades.
Completely Retail News caught up with James Potter, Partner within Park Place Retail’s agency team, to find out how the firm’s first year went:
Today marks one year since Park Place Retail launched – how have the first 12 months been?
“It has been a whirlwind! We set up the business from scratch in literally just a few weeks. Everyone pulled together and we managed to open for business with an office, a website and everything else we needed on 1st November 2023.
“A big plus was finding a new home on Kingly Street in the Carnaby Estate, which is a fantastic location. We are big believers in working collaboratively, and having a great office with everyone regularly attending is essential in an agency business.
“We have been incredibly fortunate that all our clients, most of whom we have worked with for many years, have chosen to come with us. On the landlord side, this amounted to over 20 million sq ft of retail warehouse floor space under our asset management.
“We also continue to work with our valued retailer clients, JD Sports, Currys, Hobbycraft and Halfords.
“We have thoroughly enjoyed the first 12 months.”
During your first year, have you been able to grow your instruction book?
“Since starting, we have been appointed on a further 20 new landlord instructions, covering over 2 million sq ft.
“We have also been appointed by Nestware Holdings, the owner of 15 freehold Carpetright stores, to let or sell those vacant units, with most of those already under offer.
“In addition, we were delighted to be appointed by The Jockey Club to look at occupiers for surplus land at a number of their racecourses.”
Have you been able to expand the team?
“Back in July, Henry Elwess joined us from Montagu Evans. Henry has been a fantastic addition to the agency team, bringing fresh ideas, a younger perspective and new clients to the business, including Boots and Wickes.
“We also have an additional appointment on the investment side to be announced shortly – watch this space!
“We are keen to grow the business further, particularly bringing in some younger talent, but it’s imperative that new colleagues share the professionalism and drive we all have.”
How has the occupational market been over the last 12 months, and are you seeing any signs of rental growth?
“Notwithstanding the sector’s very low void rate, the leasing market has been very active. We have undertaken over 90 open market lettings for our landlord clients, and over 100 regears.
“Whilst some towns remain oversupplied, we have had competitive bidding in many situations, particularly on the Wilko and Carpetright stores, and we are seeing genuine rental growth in many locations for the first time since the Pandemic.
“For our retailer clients, we have acquired eight new stores for JD Sports and seven for Hobbycraft, as well as undertaking 17 regears for Halfords.
“Despite the obvious challenges facing the restaurant sector generally, we have also seen a lot of activity in this market. Whilst there has continued to be very strong demand for drive-thru units, we have also seen increased demand for in-line units, with lettings to the likes of Wagamama, Loungers, Popeyes, Wingstop, and YO! Sushi, amongst others.”
Has the investment market changed much since you launched last year?
“We have been fortunate that the investment market has improved significantly since we launched, and appetite and demand for the sector has particularly improved over the last six months. We have transacted on £395 million, with another £80 million under offer.
“With more positivity in the occupational sector, which has trickled down to the investment market, 2024 will be another year where retail warehousing is one of the top performing sectors.”
What have you done differently compared to when you were at Wilkinson Williams 6 years ago?
“We are looking to take the experience we gained from working at the multi-discipline Avison Young and applying this on a smaller scale. We aim to rival the big firms in terms of data and capabilities, whilst providing a partner level service to our clients.
“Technology has moved on a long way in those 6 years, and we invested heavily at the outset to ensure we have the best possible platforms for client service.
“We have also been fortunate to retain a support team who have worked with us for 20 years and know what is required.
“Most of the things which are vital to running a successful specialist advisory business remain the same though, the most important being having a team of talented and knowledgeable individuals who work hard for their clients and, in this regard, we are very lucky.”
Do you have any other plans for the business going forward?
“We are partnering with a charity, Sparkes Home Sri Lanka, run by [partner] George Stratton’s mum, which helps poverty stricken and disadvantaged girls in Sri Lanka by providing a home environment, education, food and clothing, and many are now advancing to university and tertiary education.”
The Park Place Retail team on a summer ramble in Guildford. From left to right: James Potter, David Marsden, Ellie Kirkby, George Stratton, Jo Monaghan, Grant Imlah, Adele Colley, Henry Elwess, Andrew Cherry, and Miles Marten.