The future of retail destinations will be defined by the quality of experience.

TOCA is a great example of the evolution of retail.

A new 40,000 sq ft entertainment venue that boasts state of the art technology through its ball tracking, high quality food and generous drink offering is set to be the new Bullring anchor. Taking the top floor of the former Debenhams with M&S taking the ground and first floor.

George Oppenheim, the Property Director of TOCA states “the Bullring’s international presence, high footfall and the schemes  prominent location provides us confidence that TOCA will be a really great success in Birmingham”

Secured by Harry Cody Owen on behalf of Hammerson.

For further information regarding new opportunities within Bullring or Grand Central, speak to Harry Cody Owen, Evie North or Alex Todd.

The past two years have brought about a number of notable changes in our lives; our homes transitioned into our offices, gyms, and social hubs (albeit over Zoom). This time spent at home has influenced the interior & design industry as we are far more conscious of the spaces we live in.

Home furnishings were already the fastest growing e-commerce category in the U.S. even prior to COVID. The stay at home directive has only furthered the speed of growth towards the interior & home furnishing market.

The residential real estate market was red hot, as low mortgage rates and work-from-home freedom pushed home prices upward across the country. This encouraged opportunities for growth in the interior & design industry, with digital design marketplaces such as Chairish and 1stDibs, both known for well-curated selections aimed at discerning shoppers, successfully tapped into the collective desire to make homes feel new with just a few clicks.

After staring at the walls of our homes for months on end, it’s no great shock that many of us decided those surfaces could use new paint. Interior designers reported record growth as customers wanted not only big design moments but also for help with little updates throughout their homes to make it more liveable, functional, and to feel more complete.

We have witnessed the success of this market in the globally renown design district of Pimlico Road. Through its luxury design credentials it remains the best yardstick to measure the success of the wider industry.

There we welcomed several new operators to the street. Rose Uniake will open a second store on the street, this will house newly developed lines in paints and upholstery and Ochre are expanding their offering, both showing their recognition of the street as the best place to support business growth. Bonodea opened its first boutique as well as Sinclair Till the flooring specialist.

Our attention now focuses on the leasing of Newsons Yard. A former timber merchant that Grosvenor have been sensitively transforming to create five new retail units and two food and beverage spaces, surrounding a central double height courtyard – a new hub for the design community. This will make space for a new wave of craftspeople and designers.

https://newsonsyard.com/

For further information please contact – Charlotte Roberts, Lucy Cope or Woody Bruce.

Bruce Gillingham Pollard advised the Columbia Threadneedle UK Property Select III Fund in acquiring Kirkstall Bridge Shopping Park, Leeds for £25,200,000, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.79%.

The 120,000 sq ft site has 18 units, with occupiers including The Range, Home Bargains, Smyths Toys, Iceland, Pets at Home and JD Sports.

Andrew McGregor, Director at BGP commented ‘We are delighted to have completed our first out of town acquisition for Columbia Threadneedle, and our first purchase from London Metric. We were assisted in the acquisition by Smart 4, who helped us with the tenant audit and asset management strategy.’

LondonMetric was advised by Morgan Williams and Avison Young.

Recent court decisions that have found in favour of landlords seeking rent arrears should not be seen as the only way forward in terms of repairing retail property revenue flows.

It’s certainly too early for landlords to be celebrating unreservedly: in the instance of the most high-profile decision – which saw Westfield make a claim against The Fragrance Shop – there is a possibility that the High Court decision could be appealed.

It would be worrying if landlords saw the courts as the only remedy as it would be against their best interests. While the recent case decisions may have many landlords calling their lawyers, it needs to be remembered that making court claims for non-payment of rent is going to be a hazardous and protracted process. On a practical level, the courts are likely to be jammed with cases for many months and even then, there’s no certainty of getting a result.

Yes, there will be instances where there has been an irretrievable breakdown between the landlord and the occupier and it will be ‘see you in court’. But from a wider perspective, landlords need to be looking at their overall strategy to mend the financial damage caused by the pandemic and the exacerbation of the problems that were already facing the retail sector.

Base and turnover leases can help, but only if you can do the affordability modelling which gives you a feel for what different types of occupier can turnover in any given unit and location.  You want rents to be sustainable for the occupier and in line with what their revenues are: this protects both positions.  In this context, we created an affordability model for restaurants pre-Covid which we have developed further across various F&B sub-sectors and leisure uses.

Sharing risks and rewards greatly enhances the occupier and landlord relationship and brings more coherence to asset strategy. Winning in court may be a ‘jam today’ remedy for landlords, but it doesn’t address the longer-term issue of creating sustainable rental income.

Dan Taylor, Head of Lease Advisory was featured in Property Week talking about the challenges of lease resolutions.

Our Central London investment team are pleased to have advised Merseyside Pension Fund on the acquisition of The Lever Building, Clerkenwell for close to the asking price of £38,500,000.

The building is a converted Victorian warehouse, let to supermarket giant Tesco’s digital division until 2025.

The acquisition reinforces the resilience of the London office market, alongside the enduring appeal of Clerkenwell & Farringdon as highly attractive locations for both investors and occupiers.

Speak to Jack Barratt in our investment team for details.

One of the key strengths of Bruce Gillingham Pollard, is our range of clients and the diversity of the projects we work on. These instructions stretch from standalone shops and restaurant units, to large development projects nationwide. We work on established shopping centres, as well as successful Estates and our portfolio of projects stretch right the way from Zone 1 prime luxury districts, to market towns and key national cities such as Edinburgh and Cardiff.

This strength has become even more pronounced and relevant during the last 12 months, as many City Centres have seen the impact of office workers remaining at home and a lack of international tourists. In the meantime we have seen neighbourhood villages, market towns and out of town parks often thrive, as people are keen to eat and shop local. As a direct result of our range of instructions, we have been able to continue engagement access to the narrow band of tenants who remain active in the market and ensure there is cross fertilisation of ideas and relationships throughout our team which has benefited all of our instructions.

As we start the beginning of a New Year, we continue to see strong interest from tenants, looking to capitalise on the changes in consumer behaviour, with strong interest from food stores, fitness and wellness concepts and restaurants seeking to open in neighbourhood locations such as St Johns Wood, Dulwich Village, Queens Park, Ealing, Notting Hill and Brixton. One trend which has been interesting to observe, is the shift in locations being sought be restaurant operators. Many pre Covid wanted central West End locations, but have now reassessed their priorities and appreciate the relevance of residential deliveries and a local neighbourhood customer.

Our ability to reach potential tenants and share contacts and ideas across our team, is an important element of the success of our business and allows us to provide sound and relevant advice to both our leasing clients and our investment colleagues, allowing them to target locations which are vibrant and sustainable for the long term on behalf of  their investment clients.

Bruce Gillingham Pollard are delighted to have advised an overseas client on the recent acquisition of HSBC in Lincoln.

It completes the acquisition of three HSBC banks from Aviva, alongside Kingston Upon Thames & Brighton, acquired separately over the past two years for overseas clients.

The property is let to HSBC Bank Plc for a further seven years with annual RPI reviews.

Great to work with Lottie Hayward & Andy Pointon once again at Allsop LLP who acted for the vendors.

Please contact Jack Barratt in our Investment Team for details on our overseas requirements.