USC, one of retail entrepreneur Tom Hunter’s four high-street chains, is disposing of 10 of its 62 stores.
Hunter’s West Coast Capital bought the Scottish-based clothing retailer two years ago and recently brought in Jim McGonigle to run it.
He had run Qube, another Hunter brand.
McGonigle has appointed CB Richard Ellis to advise on the disposals as well as acquisitions and professional work.
CBRE’s Tony Devlin said: “USC has some good stores but the 10 are shops that aren’t performing.
“It sells a lot of good brands, like Firetrap and Diesel, but there’s a lot of competition to sell those brands.”
Locations on the market include the 12,000 sq ft North End store in Croydon and Broad Street in Reading.
Devlin said part of the rationalisation was to get out of some bigger stores.
However, McGonigle also plans to go ahead with a handful of acquisitions, including a 16,000 sq ft store at Grosvenor’s Liverpool One.
References: EGi News 12/05/06
