by James Robinson
Christina Ong’s decision to sell UK franchises has led landlords to market prime Bond Street stores, amid fears that fashion retailers could pull out of London.
One senior retail agent said: “Confidence in Bond Street is the most shaky it has been for some years. Most of the landlords of Ong’s stores are dusting off their files and reviewing the situation.
“I sincerely hope they don’t bring shops to the market because that would undermine everything that’s happened over the past four years in one fell swoop.”
Until this month, Ong was headleaseholder on several West End stores, including seven on Bond Street and New Bond Street. But Donna Karan and Prada have since exercised their options to buy back the UK franchise rights from Ong, and the leases have been assigned to the retailers. Ong has so far reassigned leases at five London stores.
AMP Asset Management, owner of the Donna Karan store at 19-20 New Bond Street, is already searching for interested parties.
Simon Hartnell of Nelson Bakewell, which is acting for AMP, said: “AMP are concerned and have asked me to look at this for them.”
US casualwear retailer Guess is thought to be next on Ong’s selling list. Her lease on Guess’s New Bond Street store runs out in December.
Paul Beswick, senior management surveyor at Prudential, which owns the store jointly with British Airways Pension Fund, said that he was seeking assurances from Ong about her long-term plans for the store.
“We will be looking to our current tenants to define their intentions for the lease,” he said.
However, some agents insist that the Ong pull-out will be far from catastrophic. Chris Blair of Blair Kirkman said: “If any of Ong’s stores came on the market they would be sold very quickly at market prices. There is far more to Bond Street than Christina Ong.”
