Retail Property News

Bournemouth’s Castlepoint celebrates boost in Christmas footfall

5th January 2024

Castlepoint Shopping Park in Bournemouth has celebrated a bumper festive period, having recorded an increase in footfall in the run-up to Christmas. During the four weeks to 28 December, visitor numbers to the scheme were up by 46% compared to the same period the year prior. This built on the growth in footfall in November, which saw numbers increase by 22% compared to 2022. The scheme benefitted from the arrival of a trio of big brands arriving in 2023, with Holland & Barrett, Hotel Chocolat, and Nike all opening at Castlepoint. The shopping park also welcomed its first-ever Christmas market in 2023, Festive Point. Designed in collaboration with local business LED House, Festive Point featured a roller-skating rink, VR area, food and drink stalls, as well as a grotto experience. Festive Point is estimated to have welcomed over 16,000 visitors during the 18 days it was open. Castlepoint celebrated its 20th birthday in 2023, which was celebrated with a number of community and charity efforts as well as a full rebrand for the scheme. Castlepoint centre manager, David Pickett, said: “Well what a year to look back on and it certainly has been a merry Christmas here at Castlepoint. Our team […]

Retail dominant in Northern Ireland as commercial investments hit £338m

5th January 2024

Retail was the dominant force in Northern Ireland in 2023 as the commercial investment sector recorded total investment volumes of £338m. According to data from CBRE Northern Ireland, the retail sector accounted for 67% of the total spend, followed by offices which represented 18%. The year’s investment sales were accumulated across 31 transactions, and exceeded 2022’s total of £330m. 2023 also represented the investment sector’s strongest year since 2015. Highlights included the sales of Rushmere Shopping Centre Retail Park in Craigavon for £46.5m; Forestside Shopping Centre in Belfast for £42m; Abbey Retail Park in Newtonabbey for £40.6m; and Foyleside Shopping Centre in Londonderry for £27m. Domestic investors comprised 74% of the market share, whilst institutional investors and property companies represented 24% and 2%, respectively. Gavin Elliott, senior director at CBRE NI, said: “2023 has been a positive year with reference to investment sale volumes and we expect 2024 will see improved real estate performance supported by declining UK inflation rates and a stabilisation in long-term interest rates. “Yields and capital values have already begun to stabilise in some sectors, and occupier markets are still driving rental growth particularly in the residential, student and industrial sectors. “As interest rates may constrain...

Ann Summers eyes growth as it secures £8m funding

5th January 2024

Ann Summers has secured £8m of funding from an asset-based lender as it eyes further omnichannel growth. The lingerie and adult toy retailer secured the funding from commercial banking company Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance (STB CF), Retail Week reports. In September, the retailer announced plans to expand after reaching £100m in turnover. The retailer is looking to use the new funding to improve both its in-store and online offering as well as bolster its working capital. Ann Summers chief financial officer, John Boyle, said: “We have our sights set on growth for [the business] and are pleased to have increased our sales following several challenging years for the retail sector. “It has been great to work with [regional sales director] Tony [Young] and the STB team, who have taken the time to really understand our business and our objectives. “The funding from STB will help us to continue to build our omnichannel proposition in a continuously evolving sector.”

Revolution Bars to downsize estate despite successful Christmas

5th January 2024

Revolution Bars Group is set to downsize its estate despite enjoying its best festive period since 2019. The group – which trades mainly through its Revolution, Revolución de Cuba, and Peach Pubs brands – said it will be closing eight of its least profitable bars to reduce future site losses. Revolution bars in Beaconsfield, Derby, Reading, St Peters Liverpool, and Wilmslow will be closed, along with Revolución de Cuba bars in Sheffield and Southampton, and the Playhouse in Newcastle-Under-Lyme. The group said negotiations for five of the eight bars have already begun for them to be transferred to other operators or to have their leases rescinded. Following the closures, Revolution Bars will operate 58 bars and 22 pubs. This comes as the group provides a trading update for the four weeks to 31 December, during which group like-for-like sales were up by 9%. This was Revolution’s strongest Christmas period since before the pandemic. The group said that its Peach Pubs and Revolución de Cuba bars had performed well, however the Revolution Bars brand – despite trading positively on a like-for-like basis over Christmas – is feeling the effects of its guests being “disproportionally impacted” by current economic conditions. Group like-for-like […]

Rough Trade picks Liverpool for largest UK store

4th January 2024

Rough Trade is set to open its largest store in the UK in Liverpool city centre. The independent record store’s 6,500 sq ft Liverpool branch will become its sixth in the UK, with other stores in Bristol and Nottingham, as well as three in London. The store at 50-56 Hanover Street is expected to open within the early months of this year. Live music and events will be available at the new store, as well as a bar and café in collaboration with Signature Brew and Dark Arts. Javed Sattar, portfolio manager at Custodian Capital, the investment manager to site landlord Custodian Property Income REIT, said: “This latest letting demonstrates the ongoing resilience of the retail market in key regional locations across the UK and further enhances the high quality tenant mix at Hanover Street. We continue to see robust occupational demand for well-located assets in urban areas and look forward to Rough Trade officially opening their doors in the coming months.” Lawrence Montgomery, managing director at Rough Trade, said: “We are excited to grow our UK presence with a store in Liverpool. The city has such a rich musical heritage as well as a vibrant scene right now which […]

Joules administrators to pay £5.9m of overdue tax

4th January 2024

The administrators of Joules are set to pay a tax bill of £5.9m in overdue VAT as part of the retailer’s liquidation process. The sale of Joule’s assets is believed to be worth a full repayment of the tax, which is due to HM Revenue and Customs. Joules – which collapsed into administration in November 2022 – was rescued by Next in a £34m deal after failing to secure emergency investment. In June 2023 administrators Interpath Advisory said the retailer owed over £100m to suppliers, lenders, and customers. The firm’s report said that unsecured creditors were owed £112m. Clothing and fabric suppliers were reportedly owed a further £38.6m while associated property companies had been left short-changed by £3.8m. Gift card holders were also out-of-pocket by £1.3m, whilst the remaining debt is owed to other companies and creditors. The report revealed that those affected will receive just a fraction of what they are owed, with creditors likely to receive between 12p and 15p to the pound. A new report, seen by The Times, said Interpath Advisory expects to pay HMRC back in full.

Tenants extend at Overgate following Frasers investment

4th January 2024

A number of tenants have extended at Dundee’s Overgate Centre following an investment into the scheme by Frasers Group. The group – which acquired the centre in March for around £30m – has confirmed plans to turn the former Debenhams into a Frasers department store with an opening planned for September. Now a number of existing tenants at the scheme are renewing their leases, with others pledging investment into their stores, The Courier reports. Recent renewals at the Overgate include Claire’s, Warren James, Goldsmiths, and Greggs. This year, Warren James, Goldsmiths, Chopstix, and Costa are planning to upgrade their stores. Following a £5m development, the ground floor of the former Debenhams will become home to the Frasers department store, whilst the first and top floors will become a Sports Direct with Evans Cycles and USC. As a result, the current Sports Direct and USC stores will become vacant. Meanwhile, both Smiggles and Argos are set to leave the scheme by January and March respectively. Another Frasers brand, Flannels, is considering a move into the current Argos or Sports Direct units. Scheme manager Malcolm Angus said Frasers’ arrival will benefit all of the centre’s shops. He added: “Frasers Group buying the […]

Next ups profit guidance by £20m

4th January 2024

Next has upped its pre-tax profit guidance for the full year by £20m, after its November and December trading was better than expected. The retailer now expects to make a profit before tax of £905m for the full financial year, up 4% against last year. The increase of £20m consists of £17m coming from the sales beat to date with a further £3m from an upgraded forecast for full price sales in January. In September, the retailer upgraded its profit guidance for the third time in the year, as it continued to outperform its own expectations. This comes as Next releases a trading statement for the fourth quarter (ending 30 December), during which performance in both its online and retail departments were ahead of expectations. Online sales were up by 9.1% during the fourth quarter compared to 2022, and ahead by 7.7% for the second half of the year. Retail sales were up by 0.6% and were unchanged in the fourth quarter and the second half respectively. Next also said its cash generation had remained strong in the year, and anticipates that it will generate around £100m more surplus cash than the previous guidance it had given in September. For […]

JD Sports opened over 200 stores in 2023

4th January 2024

The boss of JD Sports has said it is making “good progress” against its five-year strategic plan, with the retailer having opened over 200 stores in 2023. Chief executive Régis Schultz said the sportswear retailer was “confident” in its strategy and will continue to invest supported by “strong cash generation and healthy balance sheet”. JD Sports’ international expansion includes the rollout of its JD Gyms business, which now operates around 80 sites in the UK. The retailer is also targeting retail parks, with an aim to open 10 retail park stores every year. This comes as JD Sports releases a trading update for the 22 weeks to 30 December, a period during which it recorded organic revenue growth of 6% with like-for-like growth of 1.8%. The retailer said this was behind its expectations, with apparel revenue growth impacted by milder weather September whilst the peak trading period was “softer” than anticipated. JD Sports expects its full year revenue growth to be around 8%. For the full year ending 3 February 2024, the retailer now expects its profit before tax and adjusted items to be between £915m and £935m.

The O2 enjoys record year of trading in 2023

3rd January 2024

The Entertainment District and Outlet Shopping at The O2 have celebrated a record-breaking year of trade in 2023. Over the year, The O2 saw over 8.9 million visitors pass through its doors, a year-on-year increase of 17%. The destination recorded an increase of sales of 31% compared to like-for-like trading days in 2022, with Outlet Shopping and the Entertainment District up 25% and 34% respectively. A total of 18 brands – taking over 61,000 sq ft of retail, leisure, and F&B space – joined the O2 during the course of 2023. Throughout the year, Outlet Shopping saw a 25% increase in weekly average sales and an average spend increase per customer of 6%. Highlights included a 63% increase in like-for-like outlet sales during the Easter half term compared to 2019, as well as increases of 19% and 27% during the October half term and the Black Friday weekend respectively versus 2022. The outlet shopping destination also ended the year with a record-breaking Christmas period, with a like-for-like increase in sales of 14% compared to December 2022, and Boxing Day sales up by a third. The results were bolstered by number of new arrivals including Under Armour, French Connection, and Carvela....

Supermarkets wrap up busiest Christmas since 2019

3rd January 2024

Supermarkets saw their busiest Christmas period since before the pandemic, with average household spend reaching an all-time high. According to data from Kantar, Britons made 488 million trips to supermarkets in the four weeks to Christmas Eve – 12 million more than in 2022 and the highest festive figure since 2019. The data found that a record £13.7bn was spent in supermarkets, with an average household spend of £477 for the month an increase of £28 on 2022 and an all-time high. Total take-home grocery sales grew in value by 7.0%, whilst the number of items bought increased by 2%. Friday 22nd December was found to be the busiest shopping day, with over 25 million trips made and £803m spent in physical stores – 85% more than on the average Friday in 2023. The online market share remained at 11.6%, with nearly a fifth of households making an order. During the period, Sainsbury’s reached its highest market share since December 2019 at 15.8%, with sales increasing by 9.3%. Tesco, the country’s biggest supermarket, gained 0.1 percentage points (pp) to reach a 27.6% market share, with sales increasing by 7.5%. Lidl and Aldi have continued to be the fastest-growing supermarkets year-on-year, […]

Savills names essential retail as top pick for 2024

3rd January 2024

Savills has named the essential retail asset class as one of its top picks to see returns in 2024, adding that the year presents an “opportunity” for commercial investors. In the firm’s 2024 cross-sector UK forecasts, essential retail was named as one of the most attractive segments for commercial investors, alongside strategic sheds and core offices. Savills said that food stores and neighbourhood-focused retail look cheap, with population growth, omni-channel retail, and constrained stock all supporting an entrance into the sector for an income-focused strategy. The real estate services firm added that “opportunistic” investors will continue to be attracted to parts of the retail market by high yields and the medium-term capital growth upside coming from change of use. It added that it does not expect to see a surge in retail investment volumes in 2024, however some prime yield hardening in some sectors and locations is baked into its forecasts for both this year and the next. Richard Merryweather, Savills joint head of UK investment, said: “The factors that drove falls in UK property values and transaction levels over the last two years are expected to improve in 2024. There will be significant opportunity – especially in the commercial...