Developer signs five tenants for Darlington retail park development

Developer Almscliffe-Dhesi has signed five retail occupiers for a derelict industrial site in Darlington, County Durham, which is set to be transformed into a retail park.

Costa Coffee, Greggs, Indigo Sun, Harrison Vets, and Fastned have now signed up for space at the site, a portion of which has already been sold to McDonald’s, which is constructing a unit at the entrance.

Construction work on the two-acre site is set to begin in February and scheduled to complete in September.

Neil Creeney, director at Yorkshire-based Almscliffe-Dhesi, said: “This is phase one of a wider development on the Faverdale site. There is a further four acres that have retail consent which will be developed in due course.

“We are absolutely delighted to have signed up a number of high-profile and successful retail operators for phase one. They will make a significant difference to the retail offer in this popular area of Darlington and will prove to be a timely boost for the local economy.”

Bal Singh, founder co-founder of Almscliffe-Dhesi, added: “We have recently completed three successful developments in the North East and North Lincolnshire which have given us the confidence that our business model is the correct one, attracting popular national retailers to regenerated brownfield sites and creating new and sustainable jobs. We are now on site at a prestigious development in Sunderland and can’t wait to get started in Darlington.”

Neil Leitch, managing director, development finance at Hampshire Trust Bank, which provided funding for the £4m development, said: “In this case, the developer’s strong track record and the high-quality tenant line-up stood out, making it clear this was a project worth backing. The increase to our maximum loan-to-GDV reflects our commitment to adapting our criteria to open up opportunities for developers, whether in residential or commercial spaces.”