In Bristol’s pre-blitz heyday, retail rents were second only to those in London’s Oxford Street. These days, the city’s shopping centre is name-dropped by Little Britain‘s Vicky Pollard. An extension to the city’s Broadmead was mooted more than 30 years ago but nothing was done. Today, the down-at-heel centre is stagnating and retail analyst CACI puts Bristol 27th in national retail rankings.
The Bristol Alliance, a 50:50 jv between Land Securities and Hammerson, ended the uncertainty in September 2005 when it began work on the 36-acre Merchants Quarter – the new name for the redeveloped Broadmead.
With over 1m sq ft of retail and leisure, 260 homes and 250,000 sq ft of offices, the alliance sees the £500m scheme as an opportunity to return Bristol’s retail to the UK’s top 10.
Plans for the site outline two distinctquarters, to be developed at the same time, with completion scheduled for autumn 2008. First, the city’s Quakers Friars area around the 13th century Dominican friary will be redeveloped between the main shopping street, Broadmead, and Broad Weir. A Harvey Nichols boutique store will anchor 150,000 sq ft of high-end retail space – the retailer’s sixth UK store.
Retailers and caterers
The securing of Harvey Nichols, described as a “coup” by Bristol Alliance development director Philip Vaughan, was a major step for both the scheme and the city.
He cites an affluent catchment to dismiss claims that the store’s opening may be too big a step for the city. Vaughan is supported by CACI research, which shows Bristol has a higher than average proportion of “wealthy executives” and “young professionals”, a rate well above that in cities such as Cardiff, Leeds and Reading.
Upmarket caterers, such as Carluccios and Zinc of the Conran empire, will be targeted for the development. It is hoped the inclusion of a 16-storey residential tower above the Harvey Nichols store will mean the area does not, like the city centre, become deserted after 5.30pm.
Second, the rest of Merchants Quarter, from Penn Street to the realigned ring road, will comprise six buildings. Anchor tenant House of Fraser has taken one of 170,000 sq ft, while Philip Green’s Arcadia, H&M, New Look and Zara have taken space in others.
A 13-screen, 100,000 sq ft Cinema de Lux, National Amusements’ first UK cinema, will sit above one of three streets leading from Broadmead to the civic square at the base of the House of Fraser.
The alliance claims the three different high streets will prevent the development turning into a “clone town”. It also argues that the redevelopment will not create voids in the city’s other in-town and out-of-town centres.
“Bristol has lagged behind so far in retail offer that the tenants of Merchants Quarter are going to be new retailers in a new scheme that are not otherwise present in the city,” says Chris O’Mahony, associate director at Savills’ Bristol office.
The implications for out-of-town Cribbs Causeway are not as straightforward. Peter Courtney, director at Lunson Mitchenall, joint agent with Donaldsons at Merchants Quarter, voices a commonly held belief when he says the two serve different markets, complementing each other rather than competing.
But Andrew Capes, director of Hartnell Taylor Cook and agent for the city-centre Mall Galleries, believes: “With only 750,000 sq ft in total and no space for expansion, Cribbs is going to feel the pinch.”
However, David Alker, director of investment at PruPIM, part owner of Cribbs, does not see this happening. He says Cribbs is a regional centre serving a large area and will be unaffected by the opening of Merchants.
Recent lettings at Cribbs have involvedexisting clients expanding into vacated shops. A similar situation exists at the Mall Galleries, although TK Maxx has recently been granted planning permission for an extra 15,000 sq ft at the centre.
Ken Gunn, associate director at CACI, believes the success of Merchants Quarter will depend on its mix of retailers. “Merchants needs a broad mix. It needs to have an offer that is mature – higher-end retail – if it is to sustain the growth.”
Shopping population
Commentators look to the effect of Birmingham’s Bullring, another Land Securities/Hammerson scheme, on the city’s retailers to assess what Merchants will do to Bristol. With the exception of casualties Dixons and Beatties, there has been no long-term detrimental effect on Birmingham’s retailers.
Gerald Eve’s 2004 Prime Retail survey into shopping trends found that fewer than 5% of customers said they went to the Bullring and nowhere else. The survey also found an almost 50% rise in the city’s shopping population since the Bullring reopened.
Back in Bristol, Vaughan says Primark’s decision to relocate into the store that House of Fraser will vacate is an example of what could happen once Merchants is completed. He argues this will improve the area’s offer. “People’s shopping habits are changing,” he says. “They may buy something in Harvey Nichols then go to Primark for a bargain.”
Debenhams is happy to remain in the undeveloped Broadmead area, as is Marks & Spencer, which has announced a £10m refurbishment. The alliance’s vested interest, as owner of the majority of Broadmead properties bordering the development, further allays fears that the area will be neglected.
One factor that Merchants will affect, however, is rents. Zone A rents at Broadmead are £186 per sq ft – significantly below those in other city centres. Merchants has not officially gone on the market and Vaughan is reluctant to discuss rents. Chris O’Mahony of Savills hazards a guess of rents for the redevelopment being set at around £200-£220 per sq ft.
With two and half years to go, eyes are on Merchants Quarter to see if it can bring Bristol back into the UK’s retail top 10.
