Retail Property News

Savills appoints director to shopping centre team

30th January 2023

Savills has announced the appointment of Saagar Sachdev as a director within its property management team. Sachdev will manage portfolios across the UK within the real estate advisor’s shopping centre team. Savills said his role will involve further developing client relationships and building on the work done to onboard and manage various trophy retail assets across the UK. A chartered surveyor, Sachdev has previously worked for 12 years at Workman across a variety of shopping centre schemes and retail parks, working on behalf of a number of clients ranging from pension funds and real estate investment trusts to smaller private investors. Richard Hulme, head of retail property management at Savills, said: “We are excited to welcome Saagar to the team. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience within retail property management to meet the future needs of clients.” Saagar Sachdev, says: “I am delighted to be joining Savills at an exciting time of expansion and look forward to working with the team to build upon the exceptional work done so far. My experience has taught me that one size does not fit all. Similarly, with each retail asset, the approach to property management is always tailored to suit.”

Gilly Hicks comes to Liverpool ONE through Hollister relocation

30th January 2023

Grosvenor has announced the relocation of fashion retailer Hollister at Liverpool ONE, alongside its sub-brand, Gilly Hicks. The new combined space on South John Street will bring the two Abercrombie & Fitch-owned brands together for the first time in the city, and will be one of the first of its kind in Europe. This follows a busy 2022 for the Liverpool scheme, with 36 brands having signed, renewed, or opened in the year for a total of 350,000 sq ft of space. This includes Gravity, M&S, Tessuti, Charlotte Tilbury, Cricket, Under Armour, Bershka, Bread Street Kitchen, and COSMO. Grosvenor said that new and existing occupiers had invested £18m in their stores and restaurants at the destination in 2022, while Liverpool ONE welcomed over 22m visitors. The signing also follows the recent news that German fashion brand BOSS will be relocating and upsizing its store at the scheme to Paradise Street. Rob Deacon, senior asset manager at Grosvenor, said: “This deal is a testament to the momentum we are continuing to build at the destination and is particularly exciting given the new space will be one of the first model stores in Europe.” Chris Jukes, director of Liverpool ONE, added: “Liverpool...

Poundland looks to open 50 new stores

27th January 2023

Discount retailer Poundland has said it plans to open 50 new stores in the next nine months, sayong the project would create 750 jobs. The news shows a continuation of the retailer’s accelerated roll-out programme, which saw Poundland open eight stores in one day in December. The store expansions would allow the retailer to trade more frozen food in its stores, allowing Poundland to compete with the likes of Iceland and other supermarkets. The retailer said the openings and relocations would see Poundland to a wide range of UK high streets, shopping centres and retail parks. The plans outline ambitions to open Poundland’s largest store yet in London. Poundland also revealed plans to relocate from its smaller stores when leases expire, as it looks to continue upsizing. There are eight openings already confirmed for January to March, with at least another six in leasing negotiations. Poundland managing director Barry Williams said “We know how customers appreciate the effort we’ve made in the last few years to transform our offer, offering them more of what they want to buy, week-in, week-out. “That transformation means we have to step up our search for the best locations to bring the best of Poundland […]

Maybourne announce first London hotel launch in 50 years

27th January 2023

Maybourne Hotel Group, the owners of Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley, have announced the opening of its first hotel in the Capital in 50 years. Set to open in the winter, The Emory will be the group’s sixth hotel, including The Maybourne Beverley Hills and The Maybourne Riviera. Opening on Knightsbridge, the RSHP-designed hotel will offer 60 suites over 9 storeys, with each floor showcasing unique aesthetics of multiple different interior designers. The Emory will also play host to world-famous chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s ABC concept, imported from Manhattan. A newly created wellness space, complete with a 22 metre pool, will be constructed beneath ground for guests at The Emory. Hotelier Knut Wylde will be appointed as general manager in addition to his current role as general manager of The Berkeley. CEO of Maybourne Hotel Group, Gianluca Muzzi, said: “This is our first new London property in 50 years, and we believe it will be a truly ground breaking new addition to our distinguished hotel family. We plan to bring the inspiration and creative energy that have made our other hotels so notable, whilst also making The Emory a world class hub of art and culture. This opening further cements […]

Superdry sees losses as wholesale sales decline

27th January 2023

Clothing retailer Superdry has revealed an adjusted loss before tax of £13.6m for the first half of its 2023 financial year, as wholesale sales fell. In the 26 weeks to October 29 2022, wholesale sales at the retailer declined by 5.2%, which Superdry said was due to a lagged recovery after COVID and shipment timing. Despite this, the retailer said brand recovery was back on track, with a 14.3% increase in store revenue to £117.7m as more customers returned to high street shopping. Superdry added that demand strengthened over the Christmas period, with stores returning back to 2019 levels of sales and retail revenue up 24.9% in the 9 weeks to December 31, while post-Christmas sales disposed of stock at strong rates. Its Black Friday event also pulled significant numbers of customers back into stores and increased traffic on its website, Superdry said. Julian Dunkerton, founder and chief executive officer of Superdry, said: “Despite the underlying brand recovery, our profits in the first half fell short of expectations mainly due to the underperformance of Wholesale. We reorganised our team and our approach to support our Wholesale partners and expect to see their confidence return”. “Whilst we did trade well through […]

Vacancy rates continue to improve but remain above pre-Pandemic levels

27th January 2023

The end of 2022 saw a fifth consecutive quarter in which retail vacancy rates fell, however occupancy has not yet returned to levels seen before COVID-19. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the overall vacancy rate in Great Britain improved to 13.8%, 0.1 percentage points better than in the third quarter and 0.6 percentage points lower than the same period in 2021. The data from the British Retail Consortium and Local Data Company revealed that all sectors of the retail industry continued to improve. Shopping centre vacancies fell to 18.2%, down from 18.8% in the third quarter, while high street vacancies improved by 0.1% to 13.8%. Retail parks also saw an increase in occupancy, with vacancies falling 0.7% in the fourth quarter to 9.0%. Greater London, the South East, and East of England had the lowest vacancy rates, while the North East, Wales, and The Midlands saw the highest. Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “While the number of empty stores reduced in the final quarter of 2022, vacancy rates have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Retail occupancy was boosted by the return of international tourists visiting UK towns and cities and more frequent visits...

Bestway takes stake in Sainsbury’s

27th January 2023

Wholesaler Bestway has taken a 3.45% stake in Supermarket Sainsbury’s. It announced on Friday morning that it had acquired or agreed to acquire over 80 million shares in Sainsbury’s, in a deal which could be worth around £193m. Bestway, which started as a chain of convenience stores in 1963, is now a multinational business with interests in the wholesale, pharmacy, real estate, cement and banking sectors. The group says it is the seventh-largest family owned business in the UK with a turnover of approximately £4.5bn. Bestway said intends to hold its shares for investment purposes and is looking forward to supporting the supermarket’s executive management team. It added that it may look to make further purchases of Sainsbury’s shares in the future, but was not considering an offer for the Supermarket. Sainsbury’s said it would engage with Bestway in line with its normal interactions with shareholders.

Two Peel L&P schemes hit net zero targets

26th January 2023

Peel L&P has announced that two of its retail destinations have met net-zero carbon emission targets set out by the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC). Salford’s Quayside MediaCity and Gloucester Quays have been added to Peel L&P’s existing portfolio of sites which meet the UKBGC’s targets. The new newly verified properties are the first of Peel L&P’s commercial sites to achieve this feat. Peel L&P says its array of net zero buildings have saved over 1,750 tonnes of emissions in the last financial year. The UKGBC’s net zero carbon framework takes into account operational carbon emissions and action taken to reduce these, and renewable energy use. Peel L&P’s effort to reduce emissions is part of its five-year sustainability plan which supports UN goals to create a sustainable planet by 2030. In 2022, Peel L&P unveiled its Climate Positive Plan, a commitment to take more greenhouse gasses out of the air than it produces. Yetunde Abdul, head of climate action at UKGBC said: “The challenge of decarbonising the UK’s built environment is a complex one, but Peel L&P’s long-term commitment to aligning their built assets to UKGBC’s net zero carbon buildings framework demonstrates their ambition to take this challenge head-on. Given that […]

Former Debenhams plays host to independent retail hub

26th January 2023

The top floor of the former Debenhams site in Hounslow’s Treaty Centre is now playing host to a number of independent retailers. Reimagined as a community space, ‘The Loft’ provides independent businesses with the chance to experience their first taste of High Street retail. The 30,400 sq ft space also functions as an area for local community projects to showcase their creative work, while the unit also provides support work with a legal advice centre for refugees. These endeavours will be funded entirely by The Loft’s commercial offerings. Initially having launched on Monday 13th January, the community hub benefits from the support of the London Borough of Hounslow, The Mayor of London’s High Streets for All Challenge Fund, Treaty Shopping Centre, and The Arts Centre in Hounslow. A full launch is scheduled for April. The launch of The Loft now means that Hounslow High Street no longer has any unoccupied retail space. Jonathan Ashby-Rock, artistic director of The Arts Centre, comments, “In the current climate, with high streets struggling and independent shops on the decline, it’s important to discover a model where collaborative working makes high street retail possible for independent makers at all levels. We hope this will be […]

Plans submitted for £1.9bn Smithfield regeneration

26th January 2023

Birmingham City Council has received plans for the first phase of a regeneration of the Smithfield district of the city centre. The £1.9bn regeneration, overseen by Lendlease, would see the development of a new home for the historic Bull Ring Markets, leisure and cultural facilities, as well as new offices and 3,000 new homes. Smithfield is an area in Birmingham city centre consisting of the former wholesale markets, plus the current Indoor, Open and Rag markets as well as some land and buildings. Birmingham City Council announced LendLease as the preferred development partner for Smithfield in January 2019. The first phase of the development would see a new home for the Indoor Market, Rag Market and Open Market, as well as the construction of new business and leisure spaces including cafés, restaurants and bars. If approved, construction is expected to begin this year, with the first phase completed in 2027 and full development anticipated to conclude in 2035. Lendlease said the mixed-use scheme would generate 44,000 sq m (473.6K sq ft) of retail space. Lendlease estimates that the Smithfield scheme will generate $3.5 bn (c.£3.07bn) total estimated development end value. The design team working on the first phase of the...

Trio reunite to launch WTS Property Consultants

26th January 2023

Licensing, leisure, and commercial agents George Walker, Richard Tole and Jack Sinclair have teamed up to launch WTS Property Consultants. The property advisory firm opens with two offices in London and Birmingham, with a list of clients including Asda, Heineken, Punch, Wagamama and petrol station retailer EG Group. They are also solely retained by evyve Charging Network to source and secure sites for landlords as it looks to install 10,000 electric vehicle charging stations by 2030 as they aim to become the country’s largest EV charging network. The firm’s founders all previously worked together at the now Savills-acquired James A Baker Chartered Surveyors. Walker also has experience working for Star Pubs and Bars, while Tole was previously an accountant with Deloitte before moving to Punch Taverns where he focussed on acquisitions. Prior to forming WTS, Tole also ran a consultancy firm called Hamilton Tole. Jack Sinclair has over ten years experience in the commercial property sector and previously worked as a director at Savills and James A Baker. Richard Tole said: “After a successful year for Hamilton Tole, I am delighted to announce that I have joined forces with my former colleagues George Walker and Jack Sinclair to form WTS […]

Lark London to open first location outside the Capital

26th January 2023

Independent lifestyle boutique Lark London is set to launch its first location outside of the Capital as it prepares to open at Woking’s Victoria Place. The retailer has taken a 1,558 sq ft space at 7 Commercial Way and will offer a number of lifestyle and homeware products from a variety of brands. Family-run Lark London is led by Dominic and Priya Aurora-Crowe and aims to take a family-oriented and personal approach, with a focus on ethical and accessible consumption. This news comes off the back of a successful 2022 for Victoria Place, which saw the arrival of performing arts institution Italia Conti, as well as The Gym Group and Itsu. Victoria Place officially opened its doors in March, welcoming M&S and Moss Bros to Henry Plaza. Dominic and Priya Aurora-Crowe, owners of Lark London, said: “Following the success of our London locations, we wanted our next store’s home to be in the heart of a town centre full of buzz and with a strong sense of community, which is exactly what we’ve found in Victoria Place.” Councillor Ann-Marie Barker, leader of Woking Borough Council, added: “[Lark London’s] family-oriented and personable format of lifestyle boutique and consistent support of local...