Arcadia has relaunched a large-scale search for a West End headquarters.
Billionaire retailer Sir Philip Green’s company is on the hunt for as much as 130,000 sq ft. It is currently based in 125,000 sq ft at Colegrave House on Berners Street, W1.
Arcadia has instructed CB Richard Ellis to scour the West End for potential options. Its search is also expected to take in Paddington, King’s Cross and the South Bank.
The group originally launched a 200,000 sq ft office requirement through Knight Frank in 2002, when it planned to consolidate its London offices, which include 214 Oxford Street and 10 Great Castle Street, both W1.
The group’s 25-year lease at Colegrave House expires next year. The block, which forms part of The Plaza shopping centre, houses the administrative functions for brands including Topshop, Burton, Principles, Dorothy Perkins and Evans.
The 2002 requirement was shelved but reignited briefly in 2008, when Green held informal discussions with Candy & Candy about taking some of the 260,000 sq ft of offices that were to be developed on the site of the former Middlesex Hospital.
Arcadia may struggle to find appropriate space in the core West End, however. Many companies with active occupational requirements have been bemoaning the lack of available office space in the supply-squeezed market.
Above average take-up in the West End over the past seven quarters has pushed supply levels to 3.9m sq ft – the lowest level since the first quarter of 2008. Vacancy now stands at a low of 3.8%.
One agent said: “In a market where large requirements are rare, landlords will be falling over themselves to land a tenant like Arcadia. But the lack of core West End stock may mean it has to consider more fringe locations.”
james.buckley@estatesgazette.com
