Insights Hub

LEISURE

Patisserie Valerie, Philpotts and Baker & Spice have all been bought out of administration in three separate rescue deals. Patisserie Holdings has been acquired by private equity firm Causeway Capital for £13m, All 21 Philpotts stores have been sold to wholesale and distribution company and finally A.F. Blakemore and Department of Coffee and Social Affairs have bought the London sites of Baker & Spice for £2.5m. The Patisserie Valerie and Philpotts deals will save all 117 stores and around 2,000 jobs. 

Florida-based sandwich brand Jon Smith Subs' UK franchisor has revealed plans to open up to 15 sites over the next few years. Hasna Skeikh Ali said the first branch opened in Hammersmith, west London in January this year and a second would open in Bournemouth by the end of the year. She hopes to open a third in Kingston by the end of next year but has said they have had over 30 interested parties also looking to obtain franchise licenses.

EasyCoffee, the café bar operator that is part of the EasyGroup, have announced their plans to open 200 sites over the next two to three years comprising of both franchise and corporate-operated sites. The expansion is starting with plans to open 24 coffee shops this year following £3.5m that was raised in private equity. 

Developer McAleer & Rushe has been granted planning permission to develop two new hotels in Birmingham and Glasgow City Centre. The two four-star Maldron brand, Dalata Hotel Group operated hotels will offer 630 bedrooms between them. The Maldron Glasgow will have 300 bedrooms and will be part of a scheme that will include 100,000 sq ft of office space. It will be the first Maldron hotel in Scotland. In Birmingham they are regenerating a derelict site that will offer 330 rooms, a business centre, bar and restaurant. It is expected to be completed ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. 

The Project Zinc portfolio that was owned by property tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz’s Zinc Hotels before it went into administration, has been sold for a total £507.5m. The 601-bed Hilton London Kensington hotel has been acquired by Kensington Cola for £261.5m whilst nine regional hotels have been bought by a number of SPVs controlled by Vivion Investments for £246m. The nine Hilton branded hotels are: Croydon; Watford; East Midlands Airport; Cobham, Surrey; Nottingham; Leeds City; Northampton, Twyning, Tewkesbury and York.

RETAIL

Sports retailer JD Sports has bought an 8.3% share of fellow sports retailer Footasylum. The retailer was keen to stress that ‘it is not intending to make an offer for Footasylum’ and that it had bought the stake for investment purposes only.

Forecourt group Rusdene and vaping company Vapouriz Group have launched a partnership trialling new retail offerings ranging from full store-within-a-store to small display cabinets. The first example in Waterlooville, Hampshire has opened with a 300 sq ft Vapestore with fully trained staff who will be wearing Vapestore uniforms.

The CMA has announced today that they have "extensive competition concerns" about the proposed £13bn merger between Sainsburys and Asda stating higher prices and reduced choice for consumers as two of these concerns.  Sainsbury's and Asda have since said they will continue to press ahead, despite the potential setback. Chief Executive of Sainsbury's Mike Coupe has described the CMA's work as 'fundamentally flawed'.

PROPERTY

Real estate Investors The Peel Group has announced a £150 investment in their Lifestyle Outlets portfolio for further development and are looking for a new strategic investor to accelerate the process.  Deputy chairman of Peel Group, Neil Lees said: “The UK outlet market is in a strong position and Gloucester Quays continues to outperform in terms of net income growth and capital value. We believe it is the right time to bring in a partner who we can continue to grow the scheme with. This is part of Peel L&P’s long-term strategy, where we will continue to look to work with third party like-minded investors to develop our assets, like we have successfully achieved at MediaCity UK.”  With this in mind investment is planned for Gloucester Quays, The Lowry Outlet, MediaCity UK and Lifestyle Outlets.

Investment and property management company, LCP, have acquired the 48,820 sq ft Crown Walk in Bicester, Oxfordshire. The centre is an open-air retail scheme that is anchored by WH Smith and is part of their long-term strategic plan ‘to invest in retail schemes from small local convenience parades to larger shopping centres’. Other retailers include Vodafone, H Samuel, Boots Opticians and Thomas Cook.

Property giant Shaftesbury has announced the imminent arrival of four international retailers in London’s Carnaby area. Outdoor apparel retailer Columbia Sportswear will open as a flagship store with two floors and 2,465 sq ft of floor space as well as French eyewear retailer Izipizi, Italian teenage-wear retailer Subdued and German shaving retailer Muhle, all are expected to open in the early part of this year. It will also see the expansion of Swedish retailer Our Legacy which will open its first UK womenswear store.