Retail and leisure
All-you-can-eat brand Cosmo has secured three new sites and confirmed they are looking for a further five this year. Their 20th site will open at Liverpool ONE followed by one in Glasgow and another in Dublin later in the year.
Edinburgh St James has seen a strong start to 2020 having signed 12 new retailers and three F&B brands as the launch of phase one of the £1bn mixed-use development nears. H&M, Mango, & Other Stories, Russel & Bromley, Miele Experience Centre, JD Sports, Goldsmiths, Breitling, Omega, Pandora, Hotel Chocolat, Sunglass Hut, Give Guys, @pizza and Yo! To Go will all open in October.
Following the announcement of “strong growth” in their full-year results, McDonald’s has confirmed they will be investing £1bn in its UK and Ireland estate. The chain opened 40 sites last year, serving 1.1bn customers, and plan to open a further 60 restaurants this year.
IKEA is set to close the Coventry city centre site in its first-ever closure of a large UK store. The company said the store had consistently lost money since it opened in 2007, the size of the store being blamed for this, and has attracted fewer visitors than the retailer had expected. The closure will put more than 350 jobs at risk. For more analysis, see our blog on the Coventry closure.
The Marlon Abela Restaurant Corporation has seen three sites affected by administrations: Two-Michelin-starred restaurant Uma entered into administration on Monday this week but will continue to trade whilst potential buyers are sought; The Square was shut down in the middle of lunch service on Friday last week and Morton’s private members club in Berkeley Square also ceased trading last week.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has acquired a 12.5% state in British-heritage brand Mulberry. The acquisition is part of Frasers Group’s “key strategic priority” which will see them building stronger relationships with premium third-party brands elevating their retail proposition.
Investment
Birmingham City Council have given the go-ahead to build a £165m urban regeneration scheme on the derelict 11.7-acre site on Birmingham’s Main Line Canal. Galliard Homes and Apsley House Capital have proposed a joint venture that will be called Soho Wharf offering 750 new homes as well as 10,000 sq ft of commercial space, gardens and shared amenities.
Developer Peel L&P have been granted planning to develop a new £100m retail outlet. Glasgow Harbour Lifestyle Outlet, to be built on land bordered by both the River Clyde and the River Kelvin, will include shops, restaurants and a cinema creating around 2,000 new jobs on completion next year.
Veganism is here to stay
Vegan pizza restaurant Purezza who currently operate from sites in Brighton and London’s Camden are looking to extend the Camden branch as well as open up to four further sites in the coming months; The Vurger Co is set to open its first site outside London having secured a £1.4m investment. The first new site will be in Brighton in March; Vegan grab and go café concept Yeda has opened its debut site in London’s Seven Dials; Halo Burger has opened its first bricks and mortar site in Shoreditch with plans for two or three further sites in the immediate future.
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