Hungry for change

Upmarket restaurateurs are at last moving in to Leeds, giving those who want to do more than drink during a night out a choice of some decent food. Amanda Sutton examines the city’s licensed leisure market While Leeds’ city centre has about 50 bars, those wanting to eat out are severely short of choice. This is about to change. The Slug & Lettuce pub, on The Headrow, has closed and trendy restaurant Fish! is to move in. Local agents predict that this could trigger an onslaught of operations similar to those in London and Manchester. King Sturge is so confident about the city’s restaurant sector that it is even letting the ground floor of its Capitol House offices on Russell Street to one, according to the firm’s Nick Ferris. Chez Gerard has secured two sites in Leeds, rumoured to be in The Calls and The Electric Press building by Millennium Square, which will be its Livebait and Chez Gerard concepts. Terence Conran, also rumoured to be taking part of the Electric Press building, and Le Petit Blanc are just two of the other restaurant concepts trying to get a foothold in the city. “There is a significant demand for the better-quality, upmarket restaurant within Leeds,” says Jonathan Buckle at GVA Grimley. This increase in demand, allied with the coming arrival of several new mixed-use schemes in the centre, will change the pattern of the city’s licensed leisure market. At present, night-time activity is centred on two drinking circuits – The Calls, the trendy drinking route, and Greek Street which attracts the professional sector. The large number of chain bars, such as All Bar One and Casa, in the Greek Street area means that consolidation by the chains should release space. Michael Pudney at DTZ says: “Bars moving out will provide opportunities for restaurants. We know of 50 requirements for restaurants in Leeds, and at the moment we don’t have the diversity that Manchester has.” King Sturge’s Ferris says: “The [bar and pub] industry has gone through a period of consolidation, which has left the market with no expansion plans. As a result, rents are getting more realistic – it used to be a bun fight when everyone was trying to acquire space.” Weatherall Green & Smith’s Paul Fox says: “We’ve seen the end of the big bar concepts rolling out.” In line with the national trend, activity in the bar market has slowed but the picture is not wholly negative for licensed leisure agents – Bass and Surrey Free Inns are still acquiring, according to Ferris. Restaurant sector poised Jon Patrick at Christie & Co says that JD Wetherspoon wants eight more pubs in Leeds. However, he, too, says it is the restaurant sector that is poised to see the biggest growth. Japanese restaurant OKO and Thai restaurant Mogue are coming to the city; buffet-style Tampopo has already opened. Mixed-use retail and leisure schemes that are in the pipeline will add a new dimension to the city’s bar and restaurant sector. Brewery Wharf, the mixed-use scheme south of the centre on the banks of the River Aire, is just a stone’s throw away from The Calls and should act as a natural extension to the popular drinking circuit when it opens inext spring. Agents suggest that signature restaurant Paul Heathcote is about to sign up. Neighbouring scheme Berkeley Clarence Dock should open in 2003 and agent Knight Frank is already receiving lots of interest. The firm’s Alex Munro says: “We’re pleased with the way it’s going and the conditions are right. Water always sells.” Weatherall’s Fox says: “It is designed to be the Brindleyplace of the North and although it will look for similar operators as Brewery Wharf, the timeframe is different.” Munro adds that no promises can yet be made to potential occupiers because the scheme has only outline planning consent. Even so, three or four prelets are already being discussed. “If people have the right concepts they will do well, but they have to be on their toes – they always do when a market matures,” he says. Munro is downbeat about signature restaurateurs. He says: “Developers get very excited about them, but my experience is that signature restaurants are not as exciting on the rental front.” Rents are certainly an issue for the expansion of niche restaurants, which pay around £172-215 per m2 (£16-20 per sq ft). Munro says: “Rents become an issue as restaurateurs are more limited so will never compete [with the bar operators].” Like The Calls, the city’s other established drinking circuit will see its boundaries altered by the arrival of mixed-use developments. The area around Greek Street, East Parade and The Headrow will change once The Light, the 32,500m2 (350,000 sq ft) retail and leisure scheme, and Millennium Square are completed. Fickle customers Tim Westlake-Bryant of Donaldsons says: “There has been very much a transient approach by customers, with new bars opening and trading initially successfully.” Westlake-Bryant says there is an argument that there are only so many customers in the market, but he believes that once the new schemes have opened and the new circuits are defined then it will be easier to see where the city’s licensed leisure market stands. Grimley’s Jonathan Buckle says that The Light will strengthen the northern part of the city centre. “It is widely believed that this development will create one of the strongest circuits and add other benefits to the existing bars and restaurants in this location, namely the Old Monk Pub Co’s Springbok, and Yates’s Wine Lodge.” Paul Fox at Weatherall adds: “The Light pulled off a coup by getting Tiger Tiger, and it will help Greek Street and Park Road.” He points out that smaller, independent bars have worked well too because they are different. Fox believes that Leeds would benefit from its own, tailor-made concept, like Loaf, which was created by Bass for Manchester’s Deansgate Locks. Mixed-use schemes incorporating leisure in Leeds city centre The changing face of Leeds’ leisure circuit is dominated by mixed-use schemes Name of scheme Developer Size and composition of scheme Planning Time-scales Cloth Hall Street Welfield 2,787m2 of retail and leisure, 56 apartments Yes Expected to commence construction in autumn The Light, The Headrow St James Securities, Clerical Medical, Halifax 32,515m2 of leisure and retail with a13-screen cinema, SAS Radisson 150-bed hotel. Prelets to Ster Century, Bass, Tiger Tiger Yes On site with an expected autumn opening The Odeon Cinema, The Headrow Craiglair Properties 2,229m2 of retail and leisure, 55 apartments Application in. Decision expected this summer Expected to commence construction this autumn West Central, Wellington Street Teesland/ Sterling Capitol 2,787m2 of retail and leisure, 320 apartments, 11,150m2 of offices, 230-bed hotel Yes Expected to commence on site in summer 2003 subject to relocation of Royal Mail Brewery Wharf Rushbond/Swan Hill 5,202m2 of leisure and retail. 300 apartments, 9,290m2 of offices, 220-bed hotel Yes Expected to commence construction this winter Source: King Sturge Top four recent leisure transactions The arrival of Fish! in Leeds heralds the start of the city’s restaurant renaissance Address Tenant Size (m2) Rent (pa) Transaction Park Row J D Wetherspoon 1,115 £125,000 Open-market letting. Broderick Buildings, Millennium Square, Cookridge Street Hobgoblinns, t/a The Qube 815 £120,000 Open-market letting 1 Portman Street Tin Tin, t/a Thai Mogue 465 £75,000 Open-market letting 159 The Headrow Fish! 350 £65,500 Assignment of Slug & Lettuce leasehold interest Source: King Sturge