EGi’s retail research database holds information on 258 retail schemes in Surrey, Sussex and Kent – 44 in Kent, 18 in Surrey and 26 in Sussex. EG looks at the schemes under construction, completed and let
Cranes are hovering over a number of the region’s town and city centres.
Work on the first phase of The Mall in Bromley is due to commence during September this year. The scheme will incorporate purpose-built retail space at ground and first-floor levels, with health and fitness on the second floor.
Discussions are being held with prospective tenants. Henry Boot Developments is both long leaseholder and developer.
Further east at Maidstone, construction is under way on Centros Miller’s Fremlin Walk shopping centre, with completion expected in March 2005. Fremlin Walk will comprise 45 shops and total more than 350,000 sq ft.
The centre is already 70% prelet, and recent signings include Top Shop/Top Man, USC, Early Learning Centre and Ciro Citterio.
Canterbury is awaiting the opening of the redeveloped Whitefriars shopping centre. Land Securities 400,000 sq ft (37,160m2) scheme is under construction and scheduled for completion by 2005.
The city’s Fenwick centre, which occupies four floors, opened for trading in February 2003. Prelets include Boots, Tesco, Marks & Spender, HSBC and Specsavers.
In Sussex, Crest Nicholson’s The Pavilion in Crawley is under construction for completion in early 2004. The scheme will provide 55,500 sq ft of retail space over four levels with 11 shops. English Partnerships is planning consultant on the scheme.
Planners in Guildford have put a halt to plans for an extension to the Friary Centre. The owners are now in discussion with the council about revamping the centre.
MEPC, Westfield and Hermes are the long leaseholders of the 160,000 sq ft (14,860m2) centre, where the anchor tenants are McDonald’s, The Disney Store, HMV, Allders Home and Mothercare.
Croydon is also seeing retail planning activity. Deputy prime minister John Prescott has given Minerva’s Park Place the go-ahead despite London Mayor Ken Livingstone’s attempts to block the scheme. Compulsory purchase orders will be required to complete site acquisition, but it is believed the scheme could start on site in 2005.
Planning permission has also been granted for an extension to the Whitgift Shopping Centre in Croydon. Two units of 47,340 sq ft and 24,210 sq ft will be created by the conversion of a car park. Construction is expected to commence this summer with completion in late 2005.
Sainsbury’s, one of the centre’s anchor tenants, has recently reconfigured its store in the centre and signed a new 25-year lease on its 22,766 sq ft unit. The work has released 18,300 sq ft of space, which will be used as part of phase IV of the centre’s refurbishment.
Not to be left behind, a planning application has been made for a retail and leisure complex at Bride Hall Developments’ Bouverie Place in Folkestone. Shepway council owns the site’s freehold.
A detailed planning application has also been submitted for a 718,100 sq ft mixed-use development at The Seafront, Marine Parade in Folkestone.
The scheme, if approved, will be built on a 17.5-acre site and comprise 861,120 sq ft of retail space, 603 apartments and 150,000 sq ft of leisure, including health facilities, a cinema, bowling alley, bingo club and restaurants. Trent Property Developments has submitted the planning application.
Lettings
Comet has prelet a unit at the Ladymead Retail Park in Guildford on a 25-year lease. The 20,000 sq ft store is expected to be completed in August of this year.
Comet will join retailers such as Homebase and Carpetright at the park, where Edgerley Simpson Howe & Partners is the managing agent.
Travelodge is to build a 90-bedroom hotel adjacent to the Swan Shopping Centre in Leatherhead. The development will include two new units of 3,123 sq ft and 1,637 sq ft within the scheme itself.
Next has recently taken space here, joining retailers such as Boots, WH Smith and Sainsbury’s. The Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee is the centre’s long leaseholder.
The first phase of Croydon’s new shopping Centre, Centrale, opened for trading in June 2003 with tenants Aldo, Next and Zara.
Developed by St Martins Property Corporation, Centrale incorporates the existing Debenhams store and adjacent mall. The second phase of the development is scheduled for opening during Easter 2004 and tenants signed up so far include all:sports, The Pier, La Senza and Ernest Jones.
The Bromley Eye Clinic has taken a 1,490 sq ft lower floor unit at Capital Shopping Centres’ recently refurbished The Glades. The unit was previously part of the food court. Lush and Modelzone have also recently taken space at the centre, and negotiations are continuing on the remaining vacant units. The three anchor stores are Debenhams, Boots and Marks & Spencer.
Investment
The region’s shopping centres are attracting interest from investors, with REIT Asset Management one of the front runners to buy the Chequers Shopping Centre in Maidstone for around £100m.
REIT is competing with the Mall Fund, the joint venture between Morley and Capital Regional. The Stoneborough Trust owns the centre’s freehold, where anchors are Next, Bhs, Boots, TJ Hughes and Wilkinson.
Slough Estates sold the Pentagon Centre in Chatham for £53.7m to an unnamed party last February. The sale reflected an initial yield of 6.9%. Slough had owned the centre, where zone A rents are around £80 per sq ft, since 1989. Sainsbury’s, Boots and Wilkinson are the centre’s anchor tenants.
The BAA McArthurGlen joint venture was dissolved last year. BAA has sold its remaining interests in McArthurGlen’s factory outlets to a limited partnership comprising Morley, Richard Development and Joey Kaempfer.
As a result, the Ashford Designer Outlet is now managed by McArthurGlen, although BAA has retained a minority interest in the centre. Tenants at the outlet include Oasis, Rockport and Virgin Cosmetics.
Lend Lease is considering selling its stake in Bluewater, and bids of more than £1bn are expected to be made by potential vendors. Likewise, Prudential, the largest direct shareholder in Bluewater, is looking to sell half of its £500m stake in the centre.
Zara is to take Esprit’s unit at Bluewater, which, at 18,300 sq ft, is twice the size of Zara’s current store.
Last May, Scottish Mutual Assurance sold the 84,300 sq ft (7,830m2) Arun Retail Park in Littlehampton to Alstom Pensions Trust for £4.4m. The price represents a net initial yield of 6% and an equivalent yield of 6.8%.
Developer and investor, Haslemere, is on the verge of forming a £200m joint venture with GE Real Estate.
As part of GE’s involvement, it will buy an 80% interest in Haslemere’s portfolio of six shopping centres, which includes the St Nicholas Centre in Sutton. JJB Sports, Allders and Littlewoods are the anchor tenants.
