Shopping centres are being revamped in a bid to keep local trade rather than see it go to London’s fashionable areas just a train-ride away. Lauren Mills investigates.
Guildford certainly seems to be getting its retail act together. MEPC has just won planning consent for a 18,580m2 (200,000 sq ft) addition to the Friary Centre – a 1980s-built, 3,935m2 (150,000 sq ft) shopping centre that it already owns in the heart of the town centre. The new addition will be known as St Dominic Square and will include a large department store of 9,290m2 (100,000 sq ft).
St Dominic Square will be ready for the year 2000, and will have links into the Friary Centre on two levels. Additionally, the Friary is set to get a facelift to coincide with the opening of its neighbour. Anchored by C&A, Burton and HMV, zone As at the centre currently range up to about £1,023 per m2 (£95 per sq ft).
Up to scratch
Mark Isherwood of Wadham & Isherwood, joint agent with Dalgliesh & Co on the scheme, says: “We are already in discussions with a number of parties for the anchor store at St Dominic Square.”
Other main shopping destinations in Surrey are also coming up to scratch in a bid to keep shoppers from straying elsewhere. Take Camberley, a town that has been transformed by Scottish Amicable’s treatment of its 32,515m2 (350,000 sq ft) Main Square shopping centre.
Following the company’s refurbishment of the previously run-down Grace Reynolds Walk, Virgin and Next have both moved in, paying zone A rents of about £807 per m2 (£75 per sq ft). And another unit is under offer to Etam at about £1,023 per m2 (£95 per sq ft), close to top rents at the centre which exceed £1,076.42 per m2 (£100 per sq ft). Dusco runs Grace Reynolds Walk, with Healey & Baker on board as the managing agent. Hillier Parker is the letting agent.
In Sutton, Grosvenor Square Properties’ Times Square has seen some progress. Since the opening of fashion outlet T K Maxx last year, pedestrian flows have shot up by 20%. Costa Coffee has taken a unit at a rent of £32,000 pa, and a number of occupiers have transferred from short-term licences to long-term leases. These include Phone Alone, Buzz Menswear and A&R Records. Dalgleish & Co and Jackson Criss are the agents.
And in Staines, MEPC is pushing ahead with its 23,000m2 (247,580 sq ft) Two Rivers retail warehouse development in the town centre. It will include 11 large stores, 10 shops, restaurants and parking for about 900 cars.
Jeremy Collins, MEPC’s senior development manager, says: “We are in talks with a number of retailers, including well-known names new to Staines.” Planning approval is expected in March, and Angermann Goddard & Loyd and Lunson Mitchenall are the joint letting agents.
£30m refurbishment
Croydon has also experienced a retail transformation during the past few years. The £30m refurbishment of the Whitgift Centre has certainly lifted the town’s retail spirits. The centre is owned by the Whitgift Foundation and United Friendly Insurance, and managed by BZW Property Investment Management.
Already, the landlords have started a third phase of refurbishment. The £13m project will remodel the Trinity Court area, providing 1,068m2 (11,500 sq ft) of new shopping space and an entrance on to Wellesley Road. Lunson Mitchenall and Stiles Harold Williams are joint letting agents for the second-phase refurbishment, which has recently been completed. And Lunson Mitchenall is sole letting agent for the remainder of the centre, where zone A rents range up to £1,884 per m2 (£175 per sq ft).
Woking’s shopping appeal has also been boosted, by the arrival of the Peacocks shopping centre which opened about four years ago. Anchors at the 46,447m2 (500,000 sq ft) centre, which dominates the town’s shopping pitch, include Allders, T K Maxx and a Marks & Spencer food store. Hillier Parker manages the centre on behalf of the landlords, SPP Investment Management and Wyndham Investments. The letting agents are Dalgleish & Co and Gooch Cunliffe Whale.
Kingston and Richmond are also racing ahead. In Kingston, Norwich Union’s 55,740m2 (600,000 sq ft) Bentalls Centre is trading well, with recent newcomers including McDonald’s and Baron Jon. Zone A rents range up to at least £1,615 per m2 (£160 per sq ft). Hillier Parker and Jones Lang Wootton are the letting agents on the scheme.
Talking point
And in nearby Richmond, the main talking-point is Trevor Osborne’s plans to redevelop Richmond Station. Site-owner Railtrack chose Osborne’s Hawk Development Management as its partner for the multi-million-pound project, which will create a new transport interchange and at least 3,500m2 (37,675 sq ft) of shopping, as well as some offices.
Given the current level of retail activity in Surrey, it seems that the county stands a good chance of keeping its shoppers from straying.
Transactions
12-14 George Street, Croydon: HFC Bank has taken an assignment from Sun Alliance on a 15-year lease from 1995, at £55,000 pa. The property has double frontage on to George Street, with 151m2 (16,023 sq ft) on the ground floor. Stuart Edwards Fullermoon acted for Sun Alliance, while HFC represented itself.
Whitgift Centre, Croydon: Legends Surf Shop has opened its sixth store in the centre. It has taken 72m2 (766 sq ft) on a 10-year lease at £37,000 pa, with three months rent-free. Donald Bortolozzo Griffiths acted for Legends. Lunson Mitchenall was letting agent.
Peacocks Shopping Centre, Woking: La Senza has taken a 15-year lease on Unit 36 at £62,000 pa. Gooch Cunliffe Whale and Dalgleish & Co are the joint letting agents.
