|
Today, 23rd May, marks the opening of British Land and USS’s remodelled Whiteley Shopping Park in Fareham, Hampshire. The opening is the second of only two retail centres to open this year, the first of which was Land Securities’ Trinity Leeds which opened in March. The 320,000sq ft. scheme comprises 56 shops, is anchored by M&S and Tesco, and opened with only seven vacant units – a large improvement on the tired and unsuccessful Whiteley Village Factory Outlet scheme it has replaced. Trinity Leeds itself has exceeded expectations since its debut, welcoming 2.7 million shoppers in its opening month. Let’s hope that Whiteley can do the same.
Cushman & Wakefield have predicted the Russian shopping centre will overtake the UK within the next year to become the second largest market for shopping centres in Europe. France and the UK are currently the top two in terms of existing space with 16.95sq m and 16.48sq m respectively. Russia, which has 16.47sq m, will overtake the UK as new developments are completed over the next 12-18 months.
In terms of administrations, May has been fairly quiet with only two reported. London restaurant group Scotch Steak Houses appointed Wilson Field as administrator. There is, however, confusion surrounding the current state of the business due to no details having been released. York-based independent Coggles appointed Begbies Traynor as administrator after talks to secure extra funding to aid further growth of the business broke down. Despite May being quiet, retail administrations for the first quarter of 2013 increased by 10% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, largely due to the number of high-profile administrations at the beginning of the year. But with the next rent quarter day falling on June, there could potentially be an increase in the second quarter.
In other news, development initiative the Collective Project is to refurbish and repurpose up to 18 vacant retail units on Camden High Street in collaboration with the Conran Design Group, to launch a series of pop-ups on a six-month long rolling programme, in an effort to boost trade and reduce its vacancy rates. The shops will also operate as street level exhibition spaces for a number of art and culture events.
|