Kat Spybey Editorial
Property Week
Kat Spybey is news editor at Property Week.
She covers retail, leisure and Ireland.
Stories by this contributor.
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Data: Retail's 2020 Vision
14 June 2013
This year’s Midsummer Retail Report paints a more upbeat picture of a sector heading into a seven-year recovery. Here are some of the facts and figures from the report.
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Retail's 2020 Vision
14 June 2013
This year’s Midsummer Retail Report paints a more upbeat picture of a sector heading into a seven-year recovery. Kat Spybey reports and examines the key findings in detail.
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Retail's 2020 Vision
14 June 2013
This year’s Midsummer Retail Report paints a more upbeat picture of a sector heading into a seven-year recovery. Kat Spybey reports and examines the key findings in detail.
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Landlords: reform archaic 1954 act
14 June 2013
Property owners call for reform to aid innovative and dynamic retail sector. Kat Spybey reports
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Retail investors’ £70m secondary mall spree
14 June 2013
Shopping centres from Baronsgate, Ravenhill and Propinvest portfolios near sale.
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£120m shopping centre portfolio on the block
13 June 2013
The property company of former Glasgow Rangers Football Club owner and chairman Sir David Murray is to sell three shopping centres.
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£120m shopping centre portfolio on the block
13 June 2013
The property company of former Glasgow Rangers Football Club owner and chairman Sir David Murray is to sell three shopping centres.
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Cath Kidston confirms Piccadilly flagship store
10 June 2013
Fashion and home retailer Cath Kidston has confirmed plans to open a new flagship store at 180 Piccadilly in London’s West End.
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Punch Taverns sells 246 pubs as it revises restructuring plans
10 June 2013
Punch Taverns has announced that it has sold 246 pubs for £84m.
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German residential property firm to float
10 June 2013
Germany’s largest privately held residential property company is planning to list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange later this year.
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£1.5bn Silvertown Quays regeneration announced
10 June 2013
London mayor Boris Johnson is today expected to announce an agreement to undertake a £1.5bn regeneration of Silvertown Quays in the docklands.
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Property investment exchange launched to match developers with investors
10 June 2013
A property investment exchange has been launched which aims to match developers with investors, as bank finance remains difficult to secure.
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Vue cinema chain sold to Canadian investors for £935m
10 June 2013
Cinema operator Vue Entertainments has been sold for £935m.
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£1.5bn regeneration of London's Silvertown Quays announced
10 June 2013
London mayor Boris Johnson is today expected to announce an agreement to undertake a £1.5bn regeneration of Silvertown Quays in the docklands.
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ICG-Longbow senior debt fund agrees debut loan
10 June 2013
The recently floated ICG-Longbow Senior Secured UK Property Debt Investments fund has agreed its debut loan.
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Vue cinema chain sold to Canadian investors for £935m
10 June 2013
Cinema operator Vue Entertainments has been sold for £935m.
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Mike Ashley to close up to 30 Republic stores
7 June 2013
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct will close up to 30 Republic stores after failing to sign up enough landlords to new proposed lease terms.
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Only way is setback for Essex mall site as owner collapses
7 June 2013
Laindon Regeneration administration adds further delay to £75m retail and residential development.
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Fortnum & Mason to open new London store
6 June 2013
The department store which caters for the Queen is preparing to open its first standalone store since 1707.
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Sports Direct misses Republic landlord target
5 June 2013
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct is understood to have missed its 75% target for Republic stores to agree to a new temporary leasing deal, putting a question mark over the future of the brand.
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Helical Bar launches debut retail bond
4 June 2013
Helical Bar has launched its debut retail bond – a seven year 6% bond – with a target of around £75m, to further diversify its funding sources.
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Helical Bar launches debut retail bond to raise £75m
4 June 2013
Helical Bar has launched its debut retail bond – a seven year 6% bond – with a target of around £75m, to further diversify its funding sources.
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Meyer Bergman's Polish retail development now 90% prelet
4 June 2013
Meyer Bergman and Neinver’s Galeria Katowicka development in Poland is now 90% let following 12 new pre-lets, ahead of its opening in September.
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Thurrock Council secures Purfleet go-ahead
4 June 2013
Thurrock Council’s plans for the regeneration of the centre of Purfleet have been approved after the government confirmed that it would not be calling in the scheme.
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Target Healthcare REIT reports 94.7p NAV
4 June 2013
Target Healthcare REIT, which floated in March, has revealed that its net asset value per share stands at 94.7p and its shares are trading at a 9.5% premium to this.
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LondonMetric exchanges on £248m shed deal
4 June 2013
LondonMetric has exchanged contracts on the sale of a £247.56m portfolio of 11 distribution assets to a joint venture between Prologis Europe and Norges Bank Investment Management.
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Klépierre signs €750m revolving credit facility
4 June 2013
French shopping centre owner Klépierre has signed a €750m syndicated revolving credit facility leading to a one year extension of the average maturity of available credit.
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JD Wetherspoon to open motorway service station pubs
4 June 2013
JD Wetherspoon will open a 24-hour licence pub at a motorway service station.
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LondonMetric exchanges on £248m Prologis and Norges shed deal
4 June 2013
LondonMetric has exchanged contracts on the sale of a £247.56m portfolio of 11 distribution assets to a joint venture between Prologis Europe and Norges Bank Investment Management.
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Richard Caring secures site for new restaurant concept
4 June 2013
Richard Caring’s Grillshack restaurant concept has signed to open its first site on Beak Street in Soho.
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Portfolio of 78 pubs and social clubs up for sale
3 June 2013
A portfolio of 78 pubs and social clubs, which are in administration, has been put up for sale for a price tag understood to be more than £19m.
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Turkish luxury retailer launches UK-wide rollout
3 June 2013
Turkey-based luxury retailer Silk & Cashmere is preparing to rollout across the UK after opening its first store on London’s Portobello Road.
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Crown Estate in talks on Silverlink Shopping Park
3 June 2013
The Crown Estate is in talks to buy a stake in the Silverlink Shopping Park in North Shields, near Newcastle, for a price understood to be just over £100m.
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US private equity investor exchanges on £112.5m retail park deal
3 June 2013
US private equity firm KKR and asset manager Quadrant Estates have exchanged contracts to buy the Tuscany retail park portfolio for £112.5m, in what will be KKR’s debut European direct property deal.
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Hammerson to centralise digital assets
3 June 2013
Hammerson has centralised its digital shopping assets, including web and mobile, across its entire UK shopping centre portfolio into one platform under software provider Vicinitee.
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Thomas Cook store disposals revealed
31 May 2013
A list of Thomas Cook’s surplus stores which have been earmarked for closure is being circulated around the market, as retailers start talks to take on the units.
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€1bn Greek odyssey
31 May 2013
Government rescue fund markets development opportunities, plus golf and ski resorts to UK investors.
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UK investors targeted for €1bn Greek sale
31 May 2013
Government rescue fund markets development opportunities, plus golf and ski resorts to UK investors.
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Mike Ashley's Sports Direct buys stakes in two European retailers
29 May 2013
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has bought majority stakes in two leading European sports brands in Austria and the Baltic region.
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Aviva considers £100m Peterborough mall stake sale
28 May 2013
Aviva Investors is understood to be considering a sale of its 50% stake in the Queensgate shopping centre in Peterborough for more than £100m.
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Valad Europe appoints new head of investor relations
28 May 2013
Valad Europe has appointed Greg Benhamou as head of investor relations.
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GVA poaches new head of West End investment from BNP Paribas Real Estate
28 May 2013
GVA has poached its new head of West End investment in London from BNP Paribas Real Estate.
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Pension fund picks York park
24 May 2013
Associated British Foods and Marks & Spencer forward-purchase Vangarde Shopping Park in Monks Cross
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Estate agents launch property portal
23 May 2013
Some of the leading estate agents have teamed up to form a property portal to compete with the likes of PrimeLocation, Rightmove and Zoopla.
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Pension fund in talks to buy The Mall Uxbridge
23 May 2013
The Mars Pension Fund, advised by LaSalle Investment Management, is in talks to buy The Mall Uxbridge shopping centre for just under £65m.
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Hammerson secures Rugby planning consent
23 May 2013
Hammerson has secured planning consent for its £35m extension of Elliott’s Field Retail Park in Rugby.
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Gallery: British Land and USS's Whiteley Shopping Park opens today
23 May 2013
British Land and the Universities Superannuation Scheme have today opened their £84m Whiteley Shopping Park development in Hampshire.
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CBRE appoints new UK head of retail
22 May 2013
CBRE has promoted Phil Cann to become its new UK head of retail.
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CBRE appoints new UK head of retail
22 May 2013
CBRE has promoted Phil Cann to become its new UK head of retail.
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Coventry Council confirms new Friargate office
21 May 2013
Coventry City Council has confirmed its plans to become the first tenant at the city’s Friargate business district development.
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Alliance Boots launches Nottingham business incubator site
21 May 2013
Alliance Boots has teamed up with BioCity, the UK’s bioscience incubation company, to set up a new business incubator site focused on health and wellness, called MediCity.
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USS deal to buy Bath Southgate share collapses
20 May 2013
The Universities Superannuation Scheme has pulled out of a deal to buy a 50% stake in the new Bath Southgate Shopping Centre for just under £115m, Property Week understands.
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L&G completes £70m Marston's pubs sale and leaseback
20 May 2013
Legal & General Property has completed a sale and leaseback purchase of a portfolio of 27 Marston’s pubs for just under £70m.
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Snoozebox founder leaves
20 May 2013
The founder of portable hotel group Snoozebox, Robert Breare, has left the company after an alleged falling out with chairman David Morrison.
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Bird & Bird signs New Fetter Lane prelet
20 May 2013
Great Portland Estates and the City of London Corporation have confirmed a prelet at New Fetter Lane to law firm Bird & Bird, as first tipped by Property Week in March.
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Walkabout bar chain to expand with new backers
20 May 2013
The Australian themed Walkabout bar chain is preparing to restart its UK expansion after securing new private equity backers.
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NewRiver Retail secures Erdington redevelopment consent
20 May 2013
NewRiver Retail has been granted detailed planning permission by Birmingham City Council to redevelop the Central Square Shopping Centre and Erdington town centre.
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Bird & Bird signs New Fetter Lane prelet
20 May 2013
Great Portland Estates and the City of London Corporation have confirmed a prelet at New Fetter Lane to law firm Bird & Bird, as first tipped by Property Week in March.
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Retail red alert
17 May 2013
Select committee to hear retailer and landlords’ evidence; high streets back on top of government agenda
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Landlords lured to join Ashley’s Republic
17 May 2013
Sports Direct founder to focus on shoes and denim and rebrand USC stores.
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Aussie label takes shape in UK
17 May 2013
Antipodean plus-sized women’s fashion brand finds debut shop in Solihull and plans rollout across regions
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First look: Hampshire’s failed factory outlet reinvented
17 May 2013
British Land and Universities Superannuation Scheme prepare second of two UK shopping centre openings in 2013.
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Midlands investor buys Aviva's £44m Mell Square mall
16 May 2013
Midlands-based IM Properties has gone under offer to buy Aviva Investor’s Mell Square Shopping Centre in Solihull for just more than £44m.
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Retail red alert; industry urges government rescue bid
16 May 2013
Select committee to hear retailer and landlords’ evidence; high streets back on top of government agenda
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Westfield and Hammerson appoint Croydon design team
16 May 2013
Westfield and Hammerson have appointed Allies & Morrison and Leonard Design Architects to design their £1.5bn redevelopment of the tired 1960s Whitgift Centre in Croydon.
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Next's property director to retire after 27 years at the retailer
16 May 2013
Next’s property director Andrew Varley is to leave the retailer after 27 years in the job.
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PopUp Britain opens first mall store in Camberley
16 May 2013
PopUp Britain, the retail arm of national enterprise campaign StartUp Britain, has selected The Mall Camberley as the first shopping centre in the UK for the pop up venture.
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Huntingdon secures £25m town centre redevelopment
16 May 2013
Huntingdonshire District Council has signed a deal with Ipswich-based Churchmanor Estates Company and Sainsbury’s for a £25m re-development of the town centre.
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DTZ wins Rolls-Royce mandate
14 May 2013
DTZ has secured the contract to become the main property adviser for Rolls-Royce across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
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Bar and nightclub operator falls into administration
14 May 2013
The operator of Chicago’s Bars, Atmosphere Bars and Clubs, has gone into administration today.
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CBRE Hotels buys TRI Hospitality Consulting
14 May 2013
CBRE Hotels has bought TRI Hospitality Consulting in a bid to boost its European hotel consultancy practice.
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Grosvenor Fund Management buys £68m Midtown block
13 May 2013
Grosvenor Fund Management is in talks to buy an office block in London’s Midtown for around £68m.
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Plans submitted for £80m Manchester St Peter's Square scheme
13 May 2013
Fred and Peter Done and family’s Mosley Street Ventures has submitted plans to Manchester City Council for the redevelopment of a building on Mosley Street, to be named No2 St Peter’s Square.
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Superdry upsizes in Silverburn
13 May 2013
Hammerson has agreed a deal with Superdry to increase its store at Silverburn in south west Glasgow to 7,592 sq ft.
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Blackstone secures £600m Chiswick Park refinancing
13 May 2013
Blackstone has completed a £600m refinancing of its Chiswick Park office scheme in West London.
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Rockspring opens South Korea office
13 May 2013
Rockspring Property Investment Managers has opened its first north east Asia office in Seoul, South Korea.
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Sales at Westfield's London schemes exceed £1.9bn
13 May 2013
Westfield’s UK portfolio is 99% leased with sales in the first quarter of 2013 up 2.6% at Westfield London and 7.7% at Westfield Stratford.
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Town Centre Securities maintains occupancy levels
13 May 2013
Town Centre Securities has maintained occupancy across its portfolio at 98% despite retailer administrations.
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Terrace Hill completes supermarket developments
13 May 2013
Terrace Hill Group has completed two pre-let and pre-sold foodstore developments in the north east of England.
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Grainger and Dorrington form £111m south London joint venture
13 May 2013
Grainger and Dorrington have formed a 50:50 joint venture, called Walworth Investment Properties, covering a £111m portfolio of south London residential property.
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LondonMetric to sell £275m shed portfolio and signs M&S prelet
13 May 2013
LondonMetric Property is in talks to sell a £275m portfolio of distribution warehouses and has signed a major prelet with Marks & Spencer at its proposed retail park development in St Austell.
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Unite predicts 3% rental growth as reservations remain strong
13 May 2013
Unite has predicted that it will experience rental growth of 3% this year as reservations for the 2013/14 intake have already reached 75%.
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Former Starwood head beds in hotel investment firm
10 May 2013
Desmond Taljaard’s Mildmay Capital targets £250m of “good assets with bad balance sheets”.
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Collapsed retail fund nears buyer
9 May 2013
The competition to buy the Britannica shopping centre fund has been narrowed down to two parties with bids of more than £250m understood to have been submitted.
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Collapsed retail fund nears buyer
9 May 2013
The competition to buy the Britannica shopping centre fund has been narrowed down to two parties with bids of more than £250m understood to have been submitted.
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Aurora Fashions outsources property function to new Harper Dennis Hobbs division
9 May 2013
Aurora Fashions, owner of Coast, Oasis, Warehouse and Karen Millen, is planning to outsource its property services to retail agency Harper Dennis Hobbs.
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Cadogan Estate buys £29m London retail block
9 May 2013
The Cadogan Estate has bought a retail block on London’s King’s Road for £29m.
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Fund manager in talks to buy £90m The Mall Sutton Coldfield
8 May 2013
Prupim is in advanced talks to buy The Mall Fund’s Sutton Coldfield shopping centre for just under £90m.
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Plans for redevelopment of Plymouth Argyle grounds unveiled
8 May 2013
Plans to transform Plymouth Argyle Football Club’s Higher Home Park grounds into a sporting and leisure destination have been unveiled today.
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Thomas Cook’s property team on consultation amid store closures
7 May 2013
Travel agent Thomas Cook is planning to outsource its property team as it steps up the closure of a vast network of high street shops.
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Swede styles UK entrance
3 May 2013
Tiger of Sweden to open at Crown Estate’s St James’s development
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Out-of-town retail called on to allay town centre decline
3 May 2013
High street asset manager demands help for town centres from out-of-town schemes that exacerbate decline.
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Brazilian shoe retailer to open debut UK store
1 May 2013
Brazilian shoe retailer Melissa has agreed a deal to open its first permanent UK store in London.
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Sports Direct threatens to close Republic stores
30 April 2013
Sports Direct has sent a letter to landlords threatening to close all the Republic stores before the June quarter date unless the majority of landlords agreed to revised terms.
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Roxhill acquires Newbridge industrial site
30 April 2013
Roxhill Developments has acquired a 12.5 acre site at Newbridge, Edinburgh, for an industrial and logistics development.
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Westfield exits Brazil
30 April 2013
Westfield will exit the Brazilian shopping centre market after selling its stake in a joint venture less than two years after it entered the market.
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Westfield exits Brazil
30 April 2013
Westfield will exit the Brazilian shopping centre market after selling its stake in a joint venture less than two years after it entered the market.
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Whitbread extends Premier Inn expansion plans
30 April 2013
Whitbread has increased its target for Premier Inn hotel expansions this morning as it reported strong annual results.
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Whiteley nearly fully let ahead of opening
29 April 2013
The Whiteley Shopping Park development is now 91% let by rent ahead of its opening on 23 May.
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Argos plans showroom and collection stores
29 April 2013
Argos is said to be working on a trial to split its store portfolio into showrooms and collection sites.
