TK Maxx — the European brand of US department store chain TJ Maxx — is opening a 30,000sq ft flagship store within Edinburgh’s St Andrew Square development.
Already the largest new retail letting in the city centre since the 2011 opening of Primark, the pre-let deal is the first to be agreed for the joint venture regeneration project between Standard Life Investments Pooled Pension Property Fund and Peveril Securities.
Work started earlier this year on the £75m development — seven years after permission was first granted — with the demolition of the former Scottish Provident office building at the southern end of St Andrew Square.
When complete the 165,000sq ft scheme will see the opening of double height ground floor retail units, with entrances to the new stores from both St Andrew Square and South St David Street. There will also be a new walkway between Princes Street and the St James Centre.
The developers claim the scheme will deliver a considerable boost to the city centre’s shopping and business district by providing new stores and prestigious new offices. “This property is in an absolutely prime location and we will be creating a first-class long-term investment for our investors,” said Standard Life fund manager, David Stewart.
“We’re very pleased to have signed this deal with such a popular, international brand. This flagship letting will act as a key link between the retail offer of Princes Street and our aspirations for the remainder of this exciting, new development.”
His comments were echoed by Peveril Securities’ managing director, who added: “It is excellent news that we have agreed a pre-let this early in the programme, which a testament to the quality of this prestige Edinburgh location.”
A spokesman for TK Maxx said a date for the new store opening had yet to be fixed but the shopping mall — topped by offices and rooftop apartments — was slated for a mid-2016 opening.
Earlier this year TK Maxx agreed a separate letting deal with another Standard Life subsidiary when it agreed to open at Hollywood retail and leisure park, Barrow-in-Furness.
The retailer has signed a 10-year lease on a 17,000sq ft store previously occupied by Comet. Nigel Chapman, fund manager of Standard Life Investments UK Property, confirmed the clothing chain intended to refurbish the unit before its reopening.
“It’s testament to the quality of Hollywood retail and leisure park, and the strength of the local market, that a major international brand such as TK Maxx has chosen its first store in the town to be located at the retail park,” he added.
“This letting to TK Maxx complements the existing retail and leisure mix at the retail park and will be a big draw for the local community.”
With more than 1,000 North American outlets, T.J.Maxx is an established stateside clothes retailer. Under the name T.K. Maxx, it operates around 350 stores throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and Poland.
When the first European store opened in Bristol in 1994 the parent company modified the name to TK Maxx to avoid “confusion” with the established British retail chain TJ Hughes.
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