Retail Property News

Innovation Studio Thoughts: Has London lost its cool?

27th April 2023

London is no longer the “cool” city it once was, said John Abbate, special projects lead at Save The High Street. Abbate joined Chris Jukes, director of Liverpool ONE, and Fay Cannings, founder of Seekd, at Completely Retail News’ Innovation Studio session, Unconventional spaces and places at Completely Retail Marketplace on Tuesday (25th). He continued: “Decades ago, we used to come to London to see what was cool, London, Tokyo, Paris, New York, those were the cities you hit. “I worked for big, big brands and we would look – what are the independents doing? “It seems to have lost that. It’s coming back, but London used to be one of those key places to go for inspiration”. “If you walk down Oxford Street”, he said with a frown, “is that the inspiring, amazing shopping street that it’s internationally known for?” Abbate also criticised anyone “sitting on vacant units for a very long time”. “The high streets are part of where we live, and I think in the Pandemic we felt that more, because we couldn’t go very far – we had to go shop on our high streets, and we started to discover our high streets again. “So how […]

Westfield owner buys Hammerson’s stake in Croydon schemes

26th April 2023

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has completed the acquisition of Hammerson’s 50% stake in the Croydon Partnership, a package which includes The Whitgift and Centrale shopping centres, as well as a number of high street units, office blocks, and car parks. This comes as Hammerson faces continuing pressure from its biggest shareholder to speed up asset sales and resume dividend payments. Investment vehicle Lighthouse, which owns nearly 23% of the REIT, has tabled resolutions to appoint two new board members due to its discontent with Hammerson’s current strategy. The cash raised raised from the purchase is expected to bring Hammerson closer to a £500m disposals target for the end of the year. Jean-Marie Tritant, chief executive officer of URW, said: “With our full ownership of the property, it allows URW to work in partnership with the Mayor of Croydon, the Greater London Authority and other vital local stakeholders on a vision and options that support the wider transformation of the area.”

Museum of London set to move following planning green light

26th April 2023

Plans to relocate the Museum of London have been given the green light by councillors, in a move which will see the redevelopment of a number of historic market buildings. Planning permission and listed building consent have been granted, giving developers the go-ahead to start work on the West Smithfield site. The destination will also undergo a rebrand, becoming The London Museum. The City of London Corporation say the new museum will become one of the capital’s top 10 visitor attractions and will bring over 2 million visitors a year to the area. The development is part of the group’s Destination City Initiative which aims to enhance the Square Mile’s leisure offer to create a leading UK destination. The planning application covers the General Market and the Poultry Market, as well as a group of buildings known as The Annex, which includes the Fish Market, Red House, and Engine House. Shravan Joshi, chairman of the City of London Corporation planning applications sub-committee, said: “As well as being an exceptional attraction in its own right, the new museum will bring substantial economic, environmental, cultural and social benefits for London as whole.”

Nike rises up at Manchester Arndale

26th April 2023

International sportswear brand Nike has agreed to join Manchester Arndale, opening in the last remaining space of the former Topshop unit. Taking a two-storey 13,418 unit, the brand will be opening its digitally-led Nike Rise concept later this year. The Nike Rise store concept aims to empower athletes to make sport a daily habit through the aid of digital services. Nike’s entrance into the city centre follows the arrival of Sports Direct, Hollister, Gilly Hicks, and Tommy Jeans at Manchester Arndale. Steve Gray, head of European retail asset management at Global Mutual, said: “It is testament to the popularity of Manchester Arndale that Nike has selected the centre for its first Rise store in Manchester. The city is home to two of the world’s most famous sports team and Nike’s arrival will be a great attraction for sport lovers across Manchester and the North West. “The letting to Nike also means that the entire space vacated by Topshop has now been filled, following the lettings to Clarks and Gilly Hicks last year. This justifies the Manchester Arndale team’s decision to split the space and create three new high-quality units in a prime location.” M&G Real Estate and Global Mutual are joint […]

Planet Organic founders buy retailer out of administration

26th April 2023

Planet Organic has been bought out of administration by Bioren Limited, beating out Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, and Holland & Barrett, who had all bid to rescue the struggling grocer. Bioren Limited’s shareholders include Renée and Brian Elliott, who founded the organic supermarket chain in 1995. Will Wright and Christopher Pole of Interpath Advisory were appointed on Tuesday after the retailer was placed into administration, with the majority of the business immediately sold to Bioren. The rescue deal sees 10 Planet Organic stores continuing to trade in London, saving 194 in-store jobs and 71 head office roles. The directors of Bioren Limited said they plan to return to the retailer’s “vision and values”. Interpath Advisory director Gareth Slater said: “After a competitive process, we’re delighted to have concluded this transaction which will see the Planet Organic name continue to trade and, importantly, protects a large number of jobs.”

“Totally overwhelmed” Soapbox winner reacts

26th April 2023

Chris Saville, founder of Gootopia, was “totally overwhelmed” after being announced as the winner of Completely Retail Marketplace’s Soapbox competition. “We’re so passionate about this company and we don’t often get the chance to tell people about it, and it’s actually a really exciting feeling”, he told Completely Retail News. Gootopia, formerly Slime Planet, was founded in 2018 and runs workshops for children to make and play with their own slime. It also offers ‘Wine and Slime’ and ‘Slimefulness’ workshops for adults. The Soapbox competition gives 10 retailers the chance to win a month’s long pop-up lease at a Landsec shopping destination. This year’s prize also included a 15-minute takeover of the iconic Piccadilly Lights. Chris’ jaw dropped when he was announced as the winner, before hugging his wife Nishi with whom he started the company. The competition was tight, with the four judges granting honourable mentions to fashion rental brand Loanhood and micro garden subscription service Finding Roots. Gootopia currently operates in a former railway arch unit in Brixton, and recently launched a pop-up store at a Lewisham shopping centre, however Chris believes the business’s offer “can work anywhere, irrespective of location”. “We’ve always dreamed of having a Gootopia...

Michelin-starred chef opens restaurant at Seven Dials

26th April 2023

Michelin-starred chef Tom Sellers has opened his second restaurant venture at Covent Garden. The 1,700 sq ft Parisian-inspired Story Cellar is located at 17 Neal’s Yard, Seven Dials, and welcomes Stephen Naylor as head chef. The restaurant is a conceptual continuation of Sellers’ first restaurant, Restaurant Story, and will specialise in rotisserie chicken as well as a number of reimagined classic dishes. Story Cellar also features an large walk-in wine cellar in which customers can store their own personal wine collections to be catered to by the restaurant’s team of sommeliers. Customers at the 50-cover restaurant can choose to dine besides the walk-in cellar, or sit at the counter-style seating that looks out towards Neal’s Yard. Michelle McGrath, executive director at Shaftesbury Capital, said: “It is a real testament to the strength of the food offer within Covent Garden that innovative and exciting chefs such as Tom Sellers, with two Michelin stars, has opened his new restaurant in the heart of Neal’s Yard. Story Cellar will contribute to the destination’s culinary community and all-day, high-quality restaurant offering.” Story Cellar’s arrival follows the recent news that Crudo Cevicheria is set to launch at Seven Dials later in the year, opening a […]

£1.23m transformation breathes new life into Oxygen Croydon

25th April 2023

Oxygen has unveiled its £1.23m refurbishment of its Croydon Park site, featuring revamped activity zones, facilities, café, and event offerings. The 31,560 sq ft space spans across two floors and features a new layout, which includes nine new party rooms and an open party area. A lounge area for parents has also been opened, featuring a food and beverage offering. The newly-upgraded indoor family activity centre was launched to the public over Easter, following the introduction of the new concept at Oxygen’s Wilmslow and Acton sites. Steve Wilson, managing director of Oxygen, said: “We as a brand have sought to remain relevant and exceed expectations for our consumers. As part of this strategy, we have a long-term plan to invest in all our locations and our teams to ensure that Oxygen is differentiated within the indoor leisure market.” The news follows recent acquisitions of Jump Evolution in March and Red Kangaroo in November last year by Oxygen, growing the group’s portfolio to 10 UK sites.

GAIL’s to join Epsom’s Ashley Centre

25th April 2023

GAIL’s has signed at Epsom’s Ashley Centre, set to open in the summer. The artisanal bakery brand will open within a 5,958 sq ft space at the shopping destination’s East Square. Spanning over three floors, GAIL’s at the Ashley Centre will sell the brand’s full range of pastries, cakes, bread, and house blend coffee. Louisa Butters, head of retail asset management UK at site manager CBRE IM, said: “At the Ashley Centre, we have a precise long-term strategy that we are successfully implementing to further strengthen the destination and have selected brands that will reflect our vision, with GAIL’s’ values and brand ethos coinciding with the type of community we are fostering within the centre.” The scheme is currently undergoing a £5m refurbishment, set to be completed towards the end of the year. GCW and Cushman & Wakefield represent Ashley Centre, while CBRE acted on behalf of GAIL’s.

New tenancies boost Gloucester Quays sales

25th April 2023

Gloucester Quays has enjoyed an increase in sales of 6% over the last financial year, with a number of new deals bolstering the scheme’s offering. Between April 2022 and March 2023, the outlet and dining destination enjoyed an increase in retail sales of 8%, welcoming retailers FatFace and Timberland, and becoming home to the UK’s largest Levi’s outlet following its upsize. Mixed fashion rose by 15% against 2021/22, while footwear retail grew by 11%, followed by beauty & wellbeing and sports & outdoor clothing, both seeing increases of 6%. The Gloucester scheme also saw improvements in its food and beverage offering, following an announcement earlier this year that sales rose by 10.5% over the calendar year. Its café brands and bar-led venues saw an 8% increase in revenue over the last financial year. Paul Carter, asset director at Peel L&P, said: “Outlets provide a great shopping and leisure experience with a real emphasis on value for money, and the performance at Gloucester Quays over the past year shows that our catchment sees that. We have in this time delivered more options, introducing some of the best-known retailers and diversifying the food offer, all with the aim of increasing Gloucester Quays’...

Over a third of Prezzo restaurants to close

24th April 2023

Prezzo is to close over a third of its restaurants, citing the rising costs of food and energy. The Italian restaurant chain will close 46 loss-making sites, putting the jobs of 810 members of staff at risk. Prezzo said the cost of its utility bills had more than doubled during the past year, while the prices of dough balls, pizza sauce, mozzarella, and spaghetti had also spiked. “The post-COVID recovery has proved harder than we had hoped”, it added. Prezzo previously went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by private equity firm Cain International. The chain will keep its restaurants open in busier shopping areas. Dean Challenger, chief executive of Prezzo, said: “The last three years have been some of the hardest times I have ever seen for the High Street”. “The reality is that the cost-of-living crisis, the changing face of the high street and soaring inflation has made it impossible to keep all our restaurants operating profitably,” he added.

Barker Proudlove: “Hidden costs” put off retailers from launching pop-ups

24th April 2023

Retailers wanting to launch in pop-up spaces are made nervous by “hidden costs,” according to retail and leisure specialist Barker Proudlove. Jessica Swain, retail and leisure surveyor for Contemporary, the agency’s short-term lettings initiative, describes the scheme as a stepping stone for smaller businesses between starting and long-term leases. “A lot of people like the idea of having a physical space and seeing the potential of their product on the high street. But there’s understandably that nervousness of committing with the ‘what ifs’ playing in the back of the mind”, she told Completely Retail News. Swain believes retailers are put off by some pop-up providers whose services require hidden costs. She added that retailers can be reluctant to contact agents about launching pop-ups. When Barker Proudlove launched its initiative, it had to be proactive and approach retailers: “There’s no denying that we had to really push and promote.” However as Contemporary has grown, so has its reputation. Retailers now come to them: “Now when we open our calendars we tend to find that we’re already fully booked months in advance”, Swain said. As a result, Barker Proudlove is looking outside of its usual sites in the North West to launch...