Retailers are becoming increasingly eager to take up prime units in the nation’s most popular shopping centres as a rise in household disposable income allows consumers to spend in earnest once more. This has proven extremely useful for the St Enoch shopping centre in Glasgow, which has this week completed a number of lease renewals and extensions guaranteeing a strong income for years to come.
Eight new lease deals have been agreed, with most of these completions pertaining to retailers new to the centre. Mothercare, for example, has taken on one of the centre’s largest units, a 17,500 sq ft store which spans two floors and provides plenty of space for the children’s specialist retailer to showcase new and existing lines.
Other new retailers to the centre include Card Factory, Aftershock and Yankee Candle, the latter of which previously occupied a temporary kiosk within the development but has now increased its commitment by obtaining a 1,500 sq ft unit on a long term lease. Additionally, discounter Poundworld has taken advantage of the current consumer preference for budget shopping by leasing an 8,000 sq ft unit in a prime position.
Yet perhaps the most exciting lease agreement is that of popular high street retailer Topshop and Topman, which was already an existing tenant of the St Enoch centre. The brand, owned by Sir Phillip Green, made the decision to take on a larger unit of 30,000 sq ft, effectively doubling its floor space as a result of high consumer demand.
Sovereign Land, the retail and leisure development firm which manages the St Enoch centre on behalf of owners Blackstone, believes the spate of new lease agreements proves definitively that the adverse economic conditions which took a significant toll on the retail industry are steadily improving.
Leasing and asset manager at Sovereign Land, Paul Bailey, says; “We are delighted with the progress we’ve made since we acquired the centre six months ago.
“As well as the eight retailers that have signed for new stores, we have a further eight lettings agreed and in solicitors’ hands.
“We are also in discussions with a number of existing retailers who wish to extend their leases in advance of their expiry, and we are also experiencing a significant uplift in interest from food and beverage and leisure operators – both for the existing centre and for the centre’s longer term redevelopment proposals – to further enhance the overall offer and increase dwell time.”
The St Enoch centre offers retailers a total of 830,000 sq ft of commercial space: yet with existing retailers such as JD Sports, HMV and WH Smith all having extended their leases in the past week, interested parties will have to move fast in order to grab their piece of the pie. Should the alluded-to redevelopment plans materialise in the near future, it is almost certain that a number of the country’s top retailers not yet represented at St Enoch will be in line to acquire units in this popular development.
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