Insights Hub

LEISURE
Bakery café chain, Muffin Break, is to open three new sites this month. The first Dorset site, an 80-cover café in the former Druckers Patisserie unit, will open in the Dolphin Shopping Centre in Poole and will be joined by sites in Hastings, East Sussex and Colchester, Essex on the 29^th August.

Adventure leisure company Zip World is understood to be considering expansion across the UK and overseas following the cash raised earlier this year from private equity investor LDC. The company currently operates zip wires at Penrhyn Quarry and Llechwedd Slate Cavern, a forest adventure park near Llanrwst, an underground net play park at Llechwedd and has recently invested £1m in Quarry Karts in Penrhyn. A new zip wire at Rhigos in South Wales is planned but the long-term hope is to also offer leisure accommodation and transport.

In its first expansion outside of Asia, Indian hotel group, Oyo Homes & Hotels has reached 100 UK hotels operating under its banner in just 10 months. The group ‘manchises’ (a franchise and management model) and leases properties across 25 UK cities and towns has a team of more than 275 working in roles including business development, operations, transformation and marketing.  Independent hotels pay a service fee to join the Oyo brand, Oyo then invest in the branding, upgrades to the property and takes over the revenue management of the hotel.

The final Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group sites have been sold. The Ivy Collection have acquired three sites in Cardiff, London Victoria and the former Barbecoa unit in St Paul’s, Indian restaurant group Dishoom has taken the Jamie’s Italian site in Covent Garden. 

RETAIL
Health and beauty retailer, Superdrug, has announced the creation of 150 new jobs across 13 new stores opening this summer. New stores have been opening in Glasgow, Chester, Liverpool and Leeds with plans for more locations including Bolton, Newcastle, London and their first ever Superdrug in the Channel Islands on Jersey.  It also has plans to open an additional 15 stores by the end of the year and expand its Beauty Studio services creating a further 100 jobs.

With retailers across the world looking for new ways to be eco-friendly Burberry has launched a new sustainable clothing range using regenerated fishing nets, fabric scraps and industrial plastic in its bid to become carbon neutral by 2022. The capsule collection, made from recycled waste, includes the reinvention of the British luxury brand’s lightweight classic car coat.

This month has seen a selection of pop-ups: Dior has opened in Harrods to launch its Fall/Winter collection, Depop, the fashion marketplace app, opened a physical space in London’s Selfridges, Fendi is taking over Shoe Heaven in Harrods for 6 months and The Modist, luxury e-tailer, will be at designer outlet Bicester Village from 12^th August to 24^th September.

Following WHSmith’s £155m acquisition of InMotion, the biggest electronics retailer in the US last year, it has unveiled its first UK branch at Leeds Bradford Airport. The specialist travel fascia that sells technology products such as headphones and travel accessories has more than 125 branches in the US.

PROPERTY 
Landlord Lunar Greenock Sarl welcomed 5 new signings at Oak Mall in Inverclyde. The Works, Poundstretcher (trading as Bargain Buys), Vapourohm, Oak News and American Candy have all signed up mostly for 5-year leases, as well as Santander and TUI renewing their existing leases for ten years and five years respectively.   

Following the recorded increase in footfall by 6% since 2018 Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield has signed leases with new retailers. Landlord British Land have signed fashion retailer Hobbs with a 2,000 sq ft store, cosmetic brand Rituals have taken a 1,000 sq ft unit, jewellery specialist Lovisa with a 700 sq ft store as well as Swedish brand Newbie with a 900 sq ft store that will be one of their first in the UK outside London.

Shopping Centre operator intu has submitted what is seen as ‘ambitious’ plans for a £168m renovation proposal to its intu Lakeside shopping centre in Essex. The planning application will add around 40,000 square metres of retail space (between 30 and 40 new stores) as well as a new ‘state-of-the-art’ bus station, enhanced pedestrian and cycle linkages and a new public realm.

LCP is continuing with their ‘ambitious target’ to acquire new retail sites with the purchase of The Pavilion shopping centre in Thornaby-on-Tees in North Yorkshire, its third largest shopping centre purchase this year. LCP has acquired 26 retail centres across the UK from small parades to larger shopping centres with a combined investment of £150m.

Developer Sellar has started its £825m transformation of the Paddington Station area with the construction of Paddington Square.The square will offer 360,000 sq ft of prime office space, 75,220 sq ft of retail and dining space, a 13,650 sq ft rooftop restaurant and a 1.35-acre public square.