BHS ponders CVA
BHS’s management team has appointed KPMG to draw up options to reduce the retailer’s 170-strong portfolio. It is initially looking to dispose of around 30 shops but more closures could follow. A company voluntary arrangement is understood to be one of the options being considered.
Investors snap up retail parks
Investor appetite for retail parks peaked in 2015, accounting for £1bn of the £3bn of investment in retail property in the final quarter of 2015. BNP Paribas Real Estate’s UK Retail Focus found that retail parks were the most attractive sub-sector, accounting for 35% of total investment, compared with 23% in the same period in 2014.
BPF applauds devolution
The British Property Federation has welcomed the government’s decision to devolve Sunday trading hours to local authorities, saying that local authorities are best placed to decide whether local businesses and customers would benefit from longer opening hours on Sundays. Liberalising Sunday trading laws could also help certain areas compete with online retailers, the BPF said.
Lounge by Odeon signs in N1
Dining and cinema experience the Lounge by Odeon is due to open in Islington Square, N1, in late 2017. The 22,000 sq ft, six-screen cinema will be the leisure anchor for Sager Group and Cain Hoy’s 175,852 sq ft mixed-use transformation of the North London Mail Centre.
C&W’s Worboys dies, aged 27
Cushman & Wakefield agent Robert Worboys has died aged 27. Worboys was the son of P3 Logistics chief executive Ian Worboys. The family has asked for donations to be made to the Teenage Cancer Trust – a charity that helped Robert’s cousin Dominque, who has suffered from cancer since childhood.
