Insights Hub

LEISURE

Venetian restaurant group, Polpo has entered into a CVA to ‘avoid entering in to administration or liquidation’ which has been approved by 98% of creditors. The group will look to exit their Polpetto restaurant in Soho and Polpo in Notting Hill, both loss making sites that have been on the market for several months.  It will leave the group with five sites, four in Central London and one in Brighton.

Boxpark, the alternative food and shopping outlet group, has signed a deal to open a restaurant site in Shoreham Beach, West Sussex, its first outside London.  The site, formerly a toilet block, will house a roof terrace, changing rooms, a community space and water sports centre. The brand will also team up with Dan Stockland of Hove’s Big Beach Café creating Big Beach Box.  

Rockfish, Mitch Tonk’s seafood restaurant chain will see three more restaurants open in 2019 located in Exeter, Poole and Weymouth. The expansion follows the securing of a finance facility from HSBC UK. The chef also secured investment earlier in the year from Gresham House Ventures that he hopes will see the portfolio expanding to 16 sites over the next four years.

Following a £15m funding package from asset manager ICG, Bliss Hotels has announced plans to launch its first property this year ahead of rolling out the brand across the UK. The funding will allow Bliss to refurbish and rebrand the 133-bedroom Ramada Plaza hotel in Southport, Merseyside that it acquired in 2016. Once the first site is established the group intend to target other coastal locations and secondary UK cities with plans to have around 10 properties by 2026. 

RETAIL 

Zara has opened one of its largest UK stores at intu Lakeside in Essex. The fashion retailer’s flagship store will be situated over two levels and 35,000 sq ft selling womenswear, menswear and kidswear.  intu Lakeside has also seen River Island, H&M and Next extend their space at the shopping centre ahead of its £72m retail and leisure extension later this year.  The extension has already seen Nickelodeon Adventure, Puttshack, Hollywood Bowl and Flip Out sign up as well as restaurant brands including Zizzi and TGI Fridays.

Struggling mother and baby retailer, Mothercare has sold its Early Learning Centre business to The Entertainer for a reported £13.5m which will help slash its debt in part of its proposed turnaround scheme.  Early Learning Centre currently operate in 80 of the Mothercare stores in the UK as well as 400 sites internationally via franchise partners and online.  The purchase includes the portfolio of toy brands such as Happyland and will see a concession deal to supply Mothercare both in store and online once the £6m worth of retained stock is sold.

Supermarket Waitrose has confirmed the sale of five of its stores that will leave 440 members of staff with the threat of redundancy.  The grocer said that it is part of a regular review of its estate and the five supermarkets earmarked were selected as they were not seen as commercially viable in the long term.

LK Bennett has fallen into administration after weeks of speculation resulting in around 500 redundancies.  The British fashion retailer that operates 200 branded stores in the UK and internationally has appointed EY to handle the administration process following failed attempts to secure any fresh investment.

Evans Cycles have confirmed 8 store closures, well below the initial estimate of 31.  The cycling retailer, that was bought out of administration by Sports Direct last October,   have already closed stores in Brentford, Fulham, Holborn, Kendal and Spitalfields, the additional 3 that will close by the end of March are located in London in Victoria, Crouch End and Mark Lane.

PROPERTY

Aviva Investors and Galliard Homes have received planning permission from Southwark Council for a £600m mixed use scheme that will form part of the Council’s masterplan known as the Old Kent Road Action Plan.  The plan aims to regenerate and transform the area creating a new urban town centre for Southwark.  The plans include a 48-storey residential tower providing 1,113 new homes as well 60,913 sq ft of office space, 23,982 sq ft of retail space, 25,144 sq ft of flexible space for restaurants and leisure premises as well as 6,415 sq ft of space for cultural facilities.

Crerar Hotel Group has brought a portfolio of three hotels to market as the chief executive wants to reduce his personal involvement in the business.  The Ben Wyvis hotel in Strathpeffer, the Craiglynne hotel in Grantown-on-Spey and the Eight Acres hotel in Elgin, Moray are being sold together for a combined price of £6.85m.  It will leave the group with five hotels and three Inns.