Legal & General has secured budget fashion retailer Primark as the new anchor for its Ealing Broadway shopping centre in west London.
Primark has agreed to take a 20-year lease on the 70,000 sq ft department store, following previous tenant Beales’ decision to surrender its lease earlier in the summer. It will pay an annual rent of £700,000.
The store will be completely refurbished and is expected to open early next year.
Helen Gordon, property director of L&G’s life fund, said the letting to Primark was part of a tenant mix review at the shopping centre. It has also recently let a 2,500 sq ft store to fashion retailer Jane Norman and has a further four stores under offer to new tenants.
The addition of Primark to the mall will give L&G a further defence against Westfield’s 1.6m sq ft shopping centre in nearby White City, which opens next year and is widely expected to lead to lower footfall in west London.
Gordon said: “We believe Westfield’s White City will have little effect on Ealing. Our shoppers use Ealing on a day-to-day basis because of its strong retail offer and, with the arrival of Primark, we expect the number of these visits to increase.”
Cushman & Wakefield advised L&G Douglas Stevens acted for Primark.
CWM has recently replaced C&W as letting agent at the Ealing Broadway shopping mall.
