Rockspring Property Investment Managers has completed the letting of a 21,600 sq ft retail unit at Aylesbury’s Friars Square retail destination which it recently acquired on behalf of its UK Value 2 Fund.
The unit has been taken by Next on a 10 year lease adding to the occupier line up at the 268,611 sq ft high quality fashion-anchored retail and leisure destination.
Next will join other major international brands at the centre including House of Fraser, Topshop, River Island and Pandora when the store officially opens in spring 2016, following its relocation from the current Hale Leys shopping centre outlet.
Assistant director at Rockspring, Shaun Hose, believes that the owner’s plans for Friars Square have played a major role in attracting Next to the centre.
He says; “This new letting at Friars Square reflects Next’s confidence in both the existing tenant line up and the asset management strategy that Rockspring has put in place for the shopping centre, following our recent purchase.
“We are convinced that our plans, which include a new glazed entrance and car park refurbishment, will further strengthen Friars Square as an attractive shopping destination.”
Next is not the only brand to have recently joined the line up at Friars Square, however, as The Entertainer toy store has played a major role in enhancing the retail mix on offer. The leisure offering has also been diversified by the arrival of an 11,613 sq ft Rush Fitness gym.
UK Value 2 is currently one of the most fluid commercial property funds in the UK, and by its final close in February 2015 it had managed to secure a total of £342 million of equity from 11 investors. It is the second fund in a sequential, UK only closed-ended real estate strategy with a core plus risk profile managed by Rockspring.
