Retail

Byron flips on to London's Strand

25 May 2012

Restaurateur Tom Byng’s hamburger chain Byron has taken a unit at Enstar Capital’s mixed-use development on London’s Strand.

Compulsory resolution to Croydon face-off

25 May 2012

Embarrassment continues to spread in the property industry over the antics of the freeholder and leaseholder of Croydon’s Whitgift Centre — the big shopping destination in the 1970s for anyone growing up in the south-east.

Diesel revs up expansion at Westfield

25 May 2012

Fashion retailer Diesel is in talks to open a store at Westfield London in west London, as part of a UK expansion strategy.

Henderson alights in China

25 May 2012

International line-up of investors for $500m China designer outlet mall joint venture

Junction Fund approaches end of the road

25 May 2012

Owners prepare £287m vehicle for sale ahead of closing in 2013. Kat Spybey reports

Shaftesbury swinging back into action in Carnaby village

25 May 2012

Shaftesbury is to begin construction within the next year of two schemes in its Carnaby “village” in London.

Tantrums in shopping centres across the UK

25 May 2012

Teenage beauty salon to open in Stratford City ahead of national expansion

Arcadia heads to Swansea retail park

24 May 2012

The Crown Estate has secured Arcadia’s Outfit concept as its first new letting at Morfa Shopping Park in Swansea, south Wales.

GVA nabs two retail investment agents from Capital Retail

23 May 2012

GVA has recruited two new retail investment directors from Capital Retail to strengthen its existing team.

Administrators confirm 44 Clinton and Birthdays closures

23 May 2012

The administrators to Clinton Cards have today confirmed the closure of 25 Birthdays and 19 Clinton Cards stores.

Supercar dealer parks at the Bullring

23 May 2012

Supercar dealership, The Torque Project, has chosen Birmingham’s Bullring Shopping Centre as the location for its Midlands showroom, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Knight Frank poaches Savills director

23 May 2012

Knight Frank has poached Savills’ director of UK leisure and retail investment in advance of the launch of a leisure and out-of-town retail team.

Hammerson rejigs retail team

22 May 2012

Hammerson has rejigged its retail team as it prepares to focus purely on retail property in the future.

M&S cuts UK store investment by £200m

22 May 2012

Marks & Spencer has cut the amount it plans to invest in its UK store portfolio by £200m over the remaining two years of the investment plan.

HSBC sells New York branch portfolio

21 May 2012

HSBC has completed the sale of a portfolio of Upstate New York branches for $900m.

Hercules fund signs £350m loan agreement

21 May 2012

Retail park fund the Hercules Unit Trust has signed a new £350m five year loan facility.

Savills appointed to sell Liverpool shopping centre

18 May 2012

Savills has been appointed to sell the Metquarter in Liverpool on behalf of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.

Coast takes on Clinton store

18 May 2012

Fashion retailer Coast plans to trial a larger-format store after signing up for a flagship shop on London’s Oxford Street.

Hotter Shoes steps up pace of expansion

18 May 2012

Lancashire-based shoe company Hotter Shoes plans to expand its store portfolio by 35 sites by the end of 2013.

McQueen’s tailor made for Savile Row

18 May 2012

Alexander McQueen has signed a lease to open a flagship store at 9 Savile Row in London’s West End.

OpCapita talks to get shops back in Game

18 May 2012

OpCapita, which bought struggling retailer Game out of administration, is starting to sign leases with landlords with an average rental discount of 25%.

Patisserie Valerie enters Scotland

18 May 2012

Patisserie Valerie has signed to open its first stores in Scotland, as it continues to expand its portfolio.

Praxis makes mark in mall market

18 May 2012

Isle of Man property company Praxis has placed under offer Crossgates Shopping Centre in Leeds, as it seeks to increase its shopping centre exposure.

Shropshire hopes to get one over with “nil-CIL”

18 May 2012

A planning application has been submitted for one of the first schemes to take advantage of Shropshire Council’s “nil-CIL” rate for commercial development.

Sports Direct model is win-win for shoppers and retailers

18 May 2012

As one retailer after another disappoints the stock market in the current reporting season, some observers have tried to use the “w” word to justify the sector’s malaise.

Westrock and Quora's supermarket sweep

18 May 2012

Property investment company Westrock last month formed a joint venture with retail developer Quora to develop £150m of supermarket space across the UK.

Revealed: Clinton Cards stores at risk of closure

17 May 2012

Property Week can today reveal a list of 345 Clinton Cards and Birthdays stores deemed ‘non-core’, which is expected to form the basis of the stores to be closed next week.

Asos signs deal for Emap HQ

17 May 2012

Asos has today signed a deal to take Emap’s 100,000 sq ft headquarters at Greater London House, more than doubling the space it currently occupies in the building.

Westfield reveals Whitgift plans

16 May 2012

Westfield has submitted a pre-application proposal for the redevelopment of Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon.

Westfield Stratford hits £500m sales

16 May 2012

Sales at Westfield Stratford are close to £500m after eight months of trading, the Australian developer has revealed.

John Lewis seeks West End space

15 May 2012

The John Lewis Partnership is searching London’s West End for 50,000 sq ft of offices, after choosing to relocate its depot to unlock a development site in Chelsea.

Lunson Mitchenall poaches back Knight Frank's head of retail agency

15 May 2012

Lunson Mitchenall has poached back Knight Frank’s head of retail agency, Nigel Thompson.

Rank in £205m Gala Casino deal

14 May 2012

Rank Group has agreed to acquire Gala Casinos for £205m, creating the largest casino operator in the UK.

Receivers appointed to £75m Oxford Street block

11 May 2012

Receivers have been appointed to a highly contested £75m Oxford Street block owned in a joint venture by David Pearl’s Structadene and a private Middle Eastern investor.

Dover development scheme approved

11 May 2012

Developer BondCity Limited’s £20m regeneration project in the centre of Dover was given planning consent by Dover District Council last night.

Broadgate ‘arena’ unveiled

11 May 2012

The retail and leisure areas of Broadgate in the City of London are set for a facelift.

Council forced to put the big boys in the barracks

11 May 2012

A council-backed development in Cardiff has failed to attract local retailers, despite offering them subsidised rents and rate concessions.

Debenhams shows desire for Rochdale

11 May 2012

Debenhams is in discussions to anchor Genr8 Developments and Kajima Partnership’s shopping centre (pictured) in Rochdale.

Full marks to M&S at Welsh retail park

11 May 2012

Marks & Spencer has signed to anchor Hammerson’s 150,000 sq ft retail extension of the Cyfarthfa Retail Park in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.

Kate Spade digs Westfield

11 May 2012

Kate Spade has agreed a lease to open its first UK shopping centre store at Westfield London in Shepherd’s Bush.

Landlords hit in Clinton's collapse

11 May 2012

Owners will struggle to recoup retailer’s high rents if stores close

Retail warehousing comes under the cosh

11 May 2012

Prime yields edged up to 5.78% in April, when retail warehouses were the sector most under pressure.

US firm adds Insite to asset manager

11 May 2012

Insite Asset Management has formed a strategic alliance with US advisory and valuations firm GS Realty Group to find, purchase and manage retail and leisure properties across Europe for third-party clients.

SuperGroup reports "disappointing" fourth quarter

10 May 2012

SuperGroup reported flat like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to 29 April in an interim trading statement posted this morning.

Clinton Cards collapses into administration

9 May 2012

Clinton Cards has this afternoon collapsed into administration with partners at Zolfo Cooper appointed to run the ailing retailer.

Sainsbury’s to scale back store growth

9 May 2012

Sainsbury’s said this morning it would follow chief rival Tesco in scaling back new retail space growth as it reported a decline in full-year profit.

Clinton Cards on brink of administration

9 May 2012

Clinton Cards is on the brink of administration today after it requested that its shares be suspended from trading on the stock exchange.

Riot fund to be wound up after fully investing donations

8 May 2012

The High Street Fund, set up to help businesses recover following the riots last summer, will now be wound up after investing £2.8m in affected companies.

Brum and Wales retail parks in the bag

04 May 2012

Two retail parks worth £65m in Birmingham and Wales have been given the green light for development.

Debenhams signs for two Scottish stores

04 May 2012

Debenhams has signed for two Scottish stores in Dumfries and Edinburgh as it continues its UK expansion.

Market murmurs as Hereford stocks up on retail and leisure

04 May 2012

Cattle market to be converted, but locals fear city centre will suffer. Christine Eade reports

Temperley steps into Mayfair

04 May 2012

Alice Temperley is in talks to open a flagship store in London’s West End.

Cushman & Wakefield: Shopping Centre Investment Quarterly - Q1 2012

3 May 2012

While the economic outlook appears to be more stable, Q1 2012 recorded much lower levels of transactions than a year ago as investors remained cautious.

Selfridges plans Oxford Street store extension

3 May 2012

Department store retailer Selfridges is planning to revive its plans for a major extension to its Oxford Street flagship store.

Zara's Edinburgh store for sale for £17m

2 May 2012

The Zara store on Princes Street in Edinburgh has been put up for sale for £17.25m.

Argos profits plummet 57%

2 May 2012

Argos today insisted stores remain a “key component” of the business, after it saw operating profits plunge 57%.

Salmon Harvester fund buys Worcestershire mall for £20m

2 May 2012

Salmon Harvester Opportunity Fund has bought the St Andrews Square shopping centre in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire for £19.8m.

French Connection seeking to close 20% of its UK shops

1 May 2012

Fashion retailer French Connection is looking to close 14 of its UK shops including those in shopping centres like Bluewater, Brent Cross and Lakeside.

Orlebar Brown and Joseph take space at Chelsea's Duke of York Square

1 May 2012

Swimwear retailer Orlebar Brown has signed to open at Duke of York Square in Chelsea, while fashion retailer Joseph is extending its space.

Debenhams takes more space with British Land

1 May 2012

Debenhams has signed a deal with British Land to prelet a further 29,500 sq ft of office space at the developer’s Regent’s Place scheme.

Argos brings in OC&C to review business

30 April 2012

Argos has appointed OC&C Strategy Consulting to undertake a review of its business.

Wembley Central retail to go under the hammer

30 April 2012

Part of St Modwen’s Wembley Central is to be to be sold at auction this month, alongside Birmingham’s O2 academy music venue.

Forever 21 eyes Oxford Street flagship store expansion

27 April 2012

US retailer Forever 21 is understood to be in talks to expand its flagship Oxford Street store by taking an assignment of its neighbour Desigual’s lease, Propertyweek.com can reveal.

Fashion brand Next to take Yorkshire warehouse

27 April 2012

The fashion retailer Next has taken a lease on a 263,000 sq ft warehouse in Yorkshire to support its online sales division.

Amazon narrows down three sites for northern depot

27 April 2012

Internet retailer shortlists Mersey, Warrington and Doncaster hubs following Widnes washout

Birmingham in fashion for investors

27 April 2012

DTZ buys £16m first phase of Caxtongate and Temple Street mixed-use asset on market for £6.34m. Sarah Stewart reports

Debt specialists come out to play for Toys R Us

27 April 2012

US owners plan £400m debt restructuring of UK business’s highly leveraged assets

Esprit discovers Lighthouse is a keeper

27 April 2012

Esprit is rolling out a new store concept called the Lighthouse, after sales at a newly converted store in Cologne, Germany (pictured), skyrocketed.

Nairn cooks up a storm in Aberdeen

27 April 2012

Celebrity chef Nick Nairn is to open a cookery school and shop in Aberdeen.

Realis bites into Stoke retail scheme

27 April 2012

With the first phase of development under way, the developer of the £350m City Sentral retail scheme in Stoke-on-Trent is now negotiating a compulsory purchase order and preparing to submit a detailed planning application on the main part of the scheme this summer.

River Island accessorises at Bullring

27 April 2012

River Island is understood to be in talks with Hammerson to open its second accessories store, at Birmingham’s Bullring.

Shopping centre pipeline slashed

27 April 2012

Around 27m sq ft of shopping centre space has disappeared from the development pipeline since the onset of the recession, research by shopping centre body BCSC has found.

LXB consent for £110m Bedfordshire scheme

26 April 2012

LXB Retail Properties has been granted planning consent for a £110m  retail warehouse scheme in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.

Whitbread reports strong results

26 April 2012

Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn and Costa Coffee, reported strong results for the year to 1 March 2012 this morning.  

JLL retail director quits to set up investment agency

25 April 2012

Jones Lang LaSalle’s retail capital markets director has quit the firm to set up a new specialist investment agency.

CSC to open aquarium at Trafford Centre

25 April 2012

Capital Shopping Centres is understood to be planning to open an aquarium at the Trafford Centre.

Allied Carpets sold in pre-pack administration… again

24 April 2012

Allied Carpets has been bought in a pre-pack deal after falling into administration for the fourth time in the past three years.

Primark to open six stores

24 April 2012

Primark will open six stores over the next six months, including one store in the UK.

Warner ‘reliant on support of lenders’

23 April 2012

Warner Estate has said it is still marketing properties to reduce its debt and remains “reliant on the continuing support of its lenders”.

Anglo Irish sale slips again

20 April 2012

The sale of the property arm of Anglo Irish Private Wealth has fallen through for the second time, so assets it owns, such as the City of London’s Royal Exchange, may now be sold over a longer period.

BIDs should buy together

20 April 2012

Sarah Townsend reports on new plans to improve procurement, including property management

Brazilian fund leads $4.6bn fundraising in March

20 April 2012

Unlisted real estate funds raised $4.6bn around the world in March, double the amount in February, reports Indirex, the new global online community for the sector.

Forum Partners expands in Australia

20 April 2012

Forum Partners, the global real estate investment management firm, has established an office in Sydney, Australia, under the leadership of Andrew Faulk, a director of Bluestone Capital.

M&S to grow space despite sales slump

20 April 2012

Marks & Spencer intends to increase UK floorspace by 3% in 2012/13 and grow overseas space by 20%, despite a fall in like-for-like sales.

Robert Dyas gets house in order for exclusive sale talks

20 April 2012

High street retailer will choose between remaining bidders this month. Rachel Hunter reports

Tesco opts for fresh focus in £1bn revamp

20 April 2012

Refurbishment preferred over space growth following dip in profits

US private equity helps put Cap & Reg into Redditch

20 April 2012

Oaktree Capital Management starts UK push by backing £130m purchase of Kingfisher Shopping Centre

US giant buys Berlin’s largest shopping centre

19 April 2012

US financial services firm TIAA-CREF has bought a 1m sq ft shopping centre in Berlin for around €350m.

BuyMyWardrobe to open in London's Portman Village

19 April 2012

BuyMyWardrobe, the second-hand designer fashion retailer, has signed to open a shop in Portman Village, London.

Debenhams signs for major new anchor store in Shrewsbury

19 April 2012

UK Commercial Property Trust has secured Debenhams to anchor its £150m New Riverside scheme in Shrewsbury.

L&G to add 57,000 sq ft to Midsummer Place

18 April 2012

Legal & General Property is planning a £15m extension to Midsummer Place Shopping Centre in Milton Keynes, the fund manager announced today.

Tesco to reduce new space growth by 38%

18 April 2012

Tesco announced it will reduce new net space growth by 38% and spend £1bn revamping its existing estate in a preliminary results statement released this morning.

Aquascutum collapses into administration

17 April 2012

Luxury fashion brand Aquascutum has collapsed into administration with FRP Advisory being appointed to handle the administration.

M&S plans 3% expansion in UK floor space

17 April 2012

M&S has announced plans to increase UK floor space by 3% in 2012/13, with a further increase of 20% abroad, despite a fall in like-for-like sales.

Plans submitted for £70m extension to Eastbourne Arndale Centre

16 April 2012

A joint venture between Legal & General Property and Strathclyde Pension Fund has submitted plans for a £70m scheme that would “transform” the retail offer in Eastbourne.

GIC and Orchard Street create £200m UK fund

16 April 2012

GIC Real Estate, the property investment arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, has teamed up with Orchard Street Investment Management for a second time to buy £200m of UK property.

Savills appoints new European retail director

16 April 2012

Savills has appointed Danny Kinnoch to its cross border investment team based in London.

Game to plead with landlords for rent cuts

13 April 2012

Harvey Spack Field and Lunson Mitchenall appointed by new owner OpCapita

London cafes to get star treatment for big bucks

13 April 2012

Starbucks is investing £8m in the renovation of some of its top London cafes ahead of the Olympics.

US pension fund reaps Festival harvest

13 April 2012

US teachers’ pension fund TIAA-CREF is understood to be leading the race to buy Grosvenor’s Festival Place shopping centre in Basingstoke , for a price of just less than £300m.

Clinton Cards lining up KPMG to advise on restructuring

12 April 2012

Clinton Cards is understood to be lining up KPMG to advise on its ongoing restructuring plans.

JD Sports closes 81 Blacks stores

12 April 2012

JD Sports closed 27% of the Blacks store portfolio in the first month of this year and said further closures will depend on how low it can renegotiate rents.

DTZ’s Menno Maas quits

11 April 2012

Menno Maas has quit as CEO of the Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) division at DTZ.

Simon Property Group to develop outlet centres in Brazil

11 April 2012

Simon Property Group is entering the Brazilian market through a joint venture with Latin America’s largest retail property company.

Retail administrations increase by 15% in first quarter

10 April 2012

The number of retail administrations in the first quarter of 2012 has increased by 15% to 69 compared, according to research by Deloitte.

Comet shoots for ‘soft CVA’

05 April 2012

Electrical retailer Comet has been locked in talks with its landlords for the past two weeks over what the market has termed a “soft CVA” — a consensual move akin to a company voluntary agreement that would allow it to reduce its rent roll.

LaSalle fund bags German mall

05 April 2012

A fund managed by LaSalle Investment Management has bought the Luisencenter shopping centre (right) in Darmstadt, Germany, for around €104m from Union Investment Real Estate.

Strathclyde’s £60m Sydenham park

05 April 2012

Strathclyde Pension Fund has agreed to forward fund the £60m development of a retail and industrial park in Sydenham, south-east London.

Whitgift revamp reaches impasse

05 April 2012

The redevelopment of Croydon’s Whitgift Centre has reached a deadlock after the owners picked different development partners.

Asics jumps onto Oxford Street

4 April 2012

Japanese sports retailer Asics has signed to open a flagship store on Oxford Street, in time for the Olympics.

Green light from Pickles for £80m Hinckley scheme

4 April 2012

An £80m regeneration scheme in Hinckley has been given the go-ahead by Secretary of State Eric Pickles today.

Westfield "remains determined" to redevelop Whitgift in Croydon

3 April 2012

Westfield has said it “remains determined” to redevelop the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon after Hammerson was yesterday picked as a preferred development partner.

Hammerson selection for Whitgift redevelopment is "inexplicable" says freeholder

2 April 2012

The freeholder of the Whitgift Centre in Croydon, the Whitgift Foundation, has described the leaseholders’ selection of Hammerson as preferred development partner as “inexplicable”.

Hammerson selected to develop Whitgift Croydon

2 April 2012

Hammerson has signed an exclusivity agreement which will enable it to buy a highly contested and controversial stake in the Whitgift Centre in Croydon, in a move which could scupper Westfield’s plans for the centre.

Game snapped up

2 April 2012

Retailer Game Group has been bought out of administration by OpCapita, the private equity firm that bought Comet last year for £2.

Breakfast with … Value Retail’s Scott Malkin

30 March 2012

Scott Malkin is founder and chairman of Value Retail, which owns Bicester Village factory outlet in Oxfordshire. Sarah Stewart took him for breakfast

Meadowhall cued for sovereign wealth

30 March 2012

Norges and Canada Pension Plan are frontrunners for Sheffield mall

Retailer asks landlords to cough up for its new look

30 March 2012

New chair meets store owners as part of turnaround programme. Rachel Hunter reports

Wickes works it out with landlords

30 March 2012

Wickes plans to renegotiate the size of around half of its stores with landlords at lease expiry, after attempts to sublease space have been hindered by the cost of conversion and retailer incentives.

Home Retail Group appoints new chairman

29 March 2012

Home Retail group, owners of Argos and Homebase today announced John Coombe will succeed Oliver Stocken as chairman, who will retire from the board this summer.

Côte signs for West End flagship at Christopher's Place

27 March 2012

Côte Restaurants has signed to open its West End London flagship restaurant at 6-8 St Christopher’s Place. 

£100m Newport Friars Walk retail scheme gets planning consent

26 March 2012

Newport’s £100m Friars Walk retail and leisure scheme was today granted planning permission by the Welsh city council’s planning committee.

Game collapses into administration

26 March 2012

The Game Group has today collapsed into administration and become the first retailing casualty of the March rent quarter date.

Big Yellow bullish on VAT changes

26 March 2012

Self storage company Big Yellow has announced plans to mitigate the potential damage caused by the changes to VAT announced during last week’s budget.

Empty shops reach record high, says LDC

23 March 2012

Shop vacancies in the UK reached a record high last month, according to the Local Data Company.

Bostock and Pollitt appointed to advise on Bracknell regen plans

23 March 2012

The Bracknell Regeneration Partnership, a joint venture between Schroders and Legal & General Property, has appointed London creative agency, Bostock and Pollitt, to draw up plans for the next phase of Bracknell town centre’s retail regeneration.

‘Inactive’ Argos on borrowed time

23 March 2012

Plummeting profits prompt analysts’ calls for store closures and innovation. Rachel Hunter reports

Croydon Facelift: Westfield and Hammerson's Whitgift battle

23 March 2012

Westfield and Hammerson are battling to redevelop Croydon’s Whitgift shopping centre, which is key to the rundown London borough’s retail renaissance. Kat Spybey reports

LaSalle pays princely sum in Edinburgh

23 March 2012

LaSalle Investment Management has bought the redeveloped 121-123 Princes Street in Edinburgh from Irish developer Deramore Property Group for around £34m.

Need to know: multichannel retail’s winning ways

23 March 2012

“Our multichannel customers are our best customers,” Debenhams marketing director Richard Cristofoli told delegates at this year’s British retail Consortium (BRC) Multichannel Retail Conference, in London on 8 March.

Q+A: LaSalle scales Tower Ramparts

23 March 2012

In December 2011, LaSalle Investment Management bought Tower Ramparts, a struggling 130,000 sq ft Ipswich shopping centre that was built 26 years ago.

Malkin's Value Retail secures Spanish outlet debt

22 March 2012

Scott Malkin’s Value Retail has secured €120m in loans to refinance a luxury outlet village in Spain.

Canary Wharf recruits Lunson Mitchenall partner as head of retail leasing

22 March 2012

A Lunson Mitchenall’s retail partner has quit the agency to go in house at one of its key clients, Canary Wharf Group.

Next pledges faith in retail property and plans new stores

22 March 2012

Fashion brand Next plans to open around 300,000 sq ft of shops this year, and said it was confident in the future of the shop properties, working alongside online retailing.

Kingsgate Shopping Centre extension plans unveiled

21 March 2012

Plans for a 120,000 sq ft expansion to Kingsgate Shopping Centre in Huddersfield have been revealed today by owners WD Huddersfield.

Comet could exit a third of its stores

21 March 2012

Electricals retailer Comet has put a third of its stores up for sale.

Inditex plans to open up to 520 stores in 2012

21 March 2012

Spanish fashion group Inditex has announced that it plans to open between 480 and 520 new stores in 2012 as its net sales rose by 10% last year to €13.8bn.

Sainsbury's powers on with convenience store expansion

21 March 2012

Sainsbury’s has continued its expansion by adding 170,000 sq ft of retail space in the last quarter, including two new supermarkets and 15 convenience stores.

Infrared confirms Liverpool St John's Centre purchase

21 March 2012

InfraRed Capital Partners has confirmed that it has exchanged contracts to buy the St John’s Centre in Liverpool from Land Securities for £76.5m.

Bubba Gump Shrimp to open in Leicester Square

20 March 2012

US fish restaurant chain Bubba Gump Shrimp, which is based on a company in the film Forrest Gump, has signed to open its first UK restaurant and shop on London’s Leicester Square.

Supergroup poaches John Lewis director as COO and to oversee property

20 March 2012

SuperGroup has appointed John Lewis’ Susanne Given to the new role of chief operating officer, which will see her take control of the retailer’s property portfolio.

Crown Estate unveils £400m St James's plans

16 March 2012

The Crown Estate has today unveiled plans for a £400m redevelopment of three sites in St James’s which will deliver 300,000 sq ft of speculative mixed use space in the west end.

Baker cooks up expansion

16 March 2012

Cupcake bakery Lola’s plans to expand across London and open six sites.

Blueprint for new Oxford Street block

16 March 2012

Plans are being drawn up to create a 10,000 sq ft retail flagship store on London’s Oxford Street.

Exemplar’s W double act

16 March 2012

Exemplar Properties is in talks with the Crown Estate to become development manager for the second of two large retail and office blocks on London’s Regent Street.

New Bond Street faces

16 March 2012

French fashion designer Marithé & François Girbaud is to open its first UK store on London’s New Bond Street, as US bag retailer Bally agrees a deal to relocate from its store.

Shops to undergo Lush, green transformation

16 March 2012

Smaller high street retailers have found it hard to compete with out-of-town chains when it comes to reducing the environmental impact of their stores.

Widows edges into outer London

16 March 2012

Broadwalk shopping centre in Edgware under offer at £70m

HMV confirms review of live music business

15 March 2012

HMV has confirmed a “number of parties” have indicated an in interest in acquiring its live music business.

Major casino scheme at Birmingham's NEC secures approval in principle

15 March 2012

Plans for a 500,000 sq ft leisure scheme at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham have been granted approval in principle.

Peacocks administrators agree deals with Poundland, Poundworld and Iceland

14 March 2012

The administrators of Peacocks have negotiated deals on 30 stores that were not included in the sale of the business to Poundland, Poundworld and Iceland.

Boris’s development body to move to Westfield

14 March 2012

London’s Mayoral Development Corporation has signed a 21,000 sq ft office lease with Westfield at its Stratford City complex in the east of the capital.

Network Rail completes new concourse at King's Cross

14 March 2012

Network Rail opens its new concourse at King’s Cross station on Monday, with a new mezzanine floor and 27,000 sq ft of retail space.

Harvey Spack dies

14 March 2012

Harvey Spack, the co-founder of out-of-town retail agency Harvey Spack Field, has died following a long illness.

Fashion Arena Outlet Centre near Prague to be sold for €76.5m

13 March 2012

The Fashion Arena Outlet Centre near Prague in the Czech Republic has been put up for sale for around €76.5m.

Peel gets consent for £60m Gloucester Quays extension

13 March 2012

Peel Group’s Gloucester Quays retail outlet scheme has secured planning consent for a £60m new leisure quarter and refurbishment.

Central London shops drop by 10%

12 March 2012

The number of shops on Central London high street has dropped by 10% in the last five years, Colliers International’s Central London Retail Health Check research has shown.

Morrisons to roll out convenience format after "best year yet"

9 March 2012

Morrisons has reported a 7% rise in turnover to £17.7bn for the year to 29 January, 2012, and says it plans to open more of its M Local convenience stores this year.

Barkers of Kensington to be remodelled

09 March 2012

German fund owner to convert art deco arcade into larger units

Birmingham’s Gallan ventures to Newham retail park

09 March 2012

Birmingham-based developer Gallan Group is to undertake its first development in London in a joint venture with the Homes and Communities Agency.

Crocs strides out across UK

09 March 2012

US shoe brand Crocs plans to roll out standalone stores in around 30 new locations across the UK.

Hammerson shrinks in Sheffield after John Lewis withdraws

09 March 2012

John Lewis has dropped plans to move to the fire station building on Hammerson’s proposed Sevenstone retail development in Sheffield and will remain in its existing store.

Leisurely progress for Doncaster's Frenchgate

09 March 2012

Frenchgate Shopping Centre in Doncaster has signed several new tenants as it benefits from the strong retail market in the town.

Mulberry expansion in the bag

09 March 2012

British accessory and fashion retailer Mulberry is launching an expansion drive across the US, Europe and Asia, for which it plans to open around 30 stores a year.

Need to know: CSC mulls next move at Broadmarsh

09 March 2012

Westfield and Possfund’s sale of Nottingham’s Broadmarsh shopping centre last year was described by the chairman of buyer Capital Shopping Centres (CSC), Patrick Burgess, as “ending a long period of stalemate”.

Retailers put faith in Trinity Leeds

09 March 2012

City centre scheme is now two-thirds let with year to go before completion. Rachel Hunter reports

Westfield Derby is five down

09 March 2012

The post-Christmas retail failures have resulted in Westfield Derby going from being fully let to having five vacant units.

MIPIM 2012: Hammerson London portfolio sales to be invested in France

8 March 2012

Hammerson chief executive officer David Atkins today said that much of the money raised from the sale of its London portfolio will be invested in France.

Cap & Reg increases NAV by 11% in strong 2011 results

7 March 2012

Capital & Regional posted better-than-expected annual results this morning.

MIPIM 2012: Rockspring buys major Polish shopping centre

5 March 2012

Rockspring Property Investment has bought a Polish shopping centre for a sum believed to be in the region of €80m.

Local Shopping REIT and Schroders to set up convenience retail fund

4 March 2012

Local Shopping REIT is believed to joining up with Schroders to launch a £60m fund to buy convenience retail stores.

Break for the border

02 March 2012

As economic angst continues to suppress consumer confidence in Europe and the US, some retailers are thriving in new markets, while others are retreating. Rachel Hunter reports

Enter Milan: Westfield's latest retail venture

02 March 2012

Westfield has joined forces with footballer-turned-retailer Antonio Percassi to open Italy’s largest mall. Kat Spybey reports from fashion capital Milan

Henderson goes Dutch with office

02 March 2012

Henderson Global Investors has bought the 113,000 sq ft Haagsche Hof office scheme in the Netherlands for €27m.

Numbers game: Forever 21's European expansion

02 March 2012

Forever 21 is gambling on European expansion, just as Britain’s high streets undergo a painful contraction. Rachel Hunter talks to CFO Larry Meyer

Retailers plan open revolt on monthly rents

02 March 2012

Occupier group writes letter demanding landlords offer greater concessions

Swede to buy British brand’s French flagship

02 March 2012

H&M owner to pay Hammerson £140m for Burberry block in Paris

Corestate buys €53m distressed retail portfolio

1 March 2012

Switzerland based private equity investor Corestate Group has bought a distressed portfolio of German high street shops for €53m.

Independents open three times as many shops as chain retailers

1 March 2012

Independent retailers opened three times as many high street shops as the chain retailers last year, research by the Local Data Company has found.

Next doubles its space at Cardiff Capital Shopping Park

29 February 2012

Fashion retailer Next has agreed to double its presence at Cardiff’s Capital Shopping Park, adjacent to the Cardiff City Stadium.

Retail vacancy drops to 12.7%

27 February 2012

Vacant retail units and floorspace have continued to fall for 18 months according to research by Colliers International.

Bulletin: Why is Hammerson exiting offices?

24 February 2012

Hammerson is hoping its decision to sell its £600m offices portfolio and focus on retail will boost performance, and a 3.7% boost to share price today would suggest its investors agree.

Banks call time on Balls

24 February 2012

The banks that own Balls Brothers’ wine bars and other bars and nightclubs in London have put the business up for sale for more than £120m.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen relishes rollout

24 February 2012

Gourmet Burger Kitchen has launched an expansion drive after being bought by Nando’s owner, venture capitalist Capricorn Ventures.

Portas plan is flying flag for high streets at heart of communities

24 February 2012

Mary Portas’s review had a lot of ideas — but were they sufficiently radical to solve the crisis of the high street?

Swindon’s Regent Circus recruits acts

24 February 2012

Cineworld, Nando’s and Prezzo prelets enable first phase to begin. Sarah Stewart reports

Victoria to undergo retail therapy

24 February 2012

Plans have been submitted for an upmarket retail and leisure project in the heart of London’s Victoria.

Fulham Town Hall to become “lifestyle emporium”

23 February 2012

Dory Ventures, the US owner of Maclaren pushchairs, has agreed to buy the Grade II-listed Fulham Town Hall from the local authority and turn it into an upmarket shopping destination.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill buys Peacocks out of administration

22 February 2012

Edinburgh Woollen Mill has bought high street retailer, Peacocks from administrators at KPMG.

BGC buys struggling Grubb & Ellis

21 February 2012

BGC Partners, the acquisitive financial services firm which acquired Newmark Knight Frank last October, has expanded its property services platform by buying struggling US firm Grubb & Ellis.

JJB margins improve but sales continue to fall

20 February 2012

Wigan-based sports retailer JJB has announced a drop in like for like sales of 5.7% during the five weeks following Christmas.

Vodafone signs up to St Catherine’s Walk shopping centre

17 February 2012

The ten-year lease, with an annual rent of £67,500, was agreed with Orchard Street Investment Management, and follows a recent agreement with Mitchells and Butler to open a combined Toby Carvery and Harvester at the centre.

$1bn Empire State REIT float

17 February 2012

Owner Malkin Holdings prepares IPO of portfolio that includes New York landmark

Bring back CMBS — all is forgiven

17 February 2012

Three securitisations in 2012 give hope of a rejuvenation of sector. Mike Phillips reports

Get on track for high street remix

17 February 2012

UK shop vacancy rate is here to stay unless urgent action is taken.

Italy’s largest restaurant chain wants pizza UK market

17 February 2012

Rossopomodoro to open 30 branches by end of 2014

Prologis catches Sainsbury’s DIRFT

17 February 2012

Supermarket to build 950,000 sq ft shed at rail freight terminal

Victory in CSC’s sights

17 February 2012

Capital Shopping Centres is poised to win the approval of shareholders today for two controversial purchases from its largest shareholder.

Westfield’s World Trade Center mall

17 February 2012

Westfield Group plans to develop a $1bn mall at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, on the site of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Legal & General gets Trowbridge leisure go-ahead

16 February 2012

Legal & General Property has been given the go-ahead to build a new retail and leisure district for Trowbridge.

Stanhope selected for Maltings redevelopment

16 February 2012

Stanhope has been selected for the redevelopment of the Maltings retail scheme in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Town Centre Securities adopts “cautious attitude”, as it reports stable interim figures

15 February 2012

Town Centre Securities this morning reported stable half-year figures and a refinancing of £90m of debt.

Hermes buys out Westfield’s stake in £400m shopping centres

14 February 2012

Hermes Real Estate Investment Management has taken full ownership of three shopping centres with a combined value of £400m after buying the 50% stakes in them from Westfield.

Shareholder groups warn over CSC and Peel deals

14 February 2012

Two key groups which represent the interests of shareholders have issued warnings about deals between Capital Shopping Centres and 20% shareholder Peel Group.

First three retailers sign for Oxford Street's Park House

10 February 2012

The first three retailers have signed to take space at the Park House development on London’s Oxford Street.

Property Week adopts a high street

10 February 2012

As Mary Portas’s town centre retail rescue mission begins, Property Week will track the progress of a typical British high street to monitor her success. Kat Spybey reports from Chippenham. Photographs by Julian Anderson

Bloomsbury set inspires co-op shops for voids

10 February 2012

People’s Supermarket concept is spreading across UK. Claer Barrett reports

British Land adds its quarter of Meadowhall to sale

10 February 2012

British Land will put a 25% stake in the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield up for sale alongside a 50% share currently being offered by London & Stamford Property and its Middle Eastern backers.

Croydon Centrale to Hammerson plans

10 February 2012

Hammerson today submitted a detailed planning application for a £50m extension to its newly purchased Centrale shopping centre in Croydon.

High street blues leave more voids

10 February 2012

Retail vacancy rates have stabilised at 14.3% but the number of voids is set to rise again this year, as consumers continue to desert the high street.

Regent Street basks in glory of best-of-British Burberry

10 February 2012

One of the areas of London that will transform itself the most to capture additional Olympic trade is Regent Street. Majority-owned by the Crown Estate, its longrunning programme of enhancements has convinced retailers to pour millions into buying and upgrading big stores.

Shaftesbury show goes on at Carnaby Street

10 February 2012

New chief executive Bickell explains his philosophy to James Whitmore

Tesco rethinks strategy as ‘space race’ slows

10 February 2012

As Tesco cuts back its developments in the UK, where next for the sector? Rachel Hunter reports

Virgin Holidays in High St Ken

10 February 2012

Virgin Holidays has opened a flagship travel agency in London.

UBS launches investment fund with £43m retail purchases

9 February 2012

UBS Global Asset Management has launched a £200m investment fund, seeded by two retail properties.

British Land to sell 25% stake in Meadowhall shopping centre

8 February 2012

British Land will put a 25% stake in the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield up for sale alongside a 50% share currently being offered by London & Stamford and its Middle Eastern backers.

Aviva and Coventry's £300m city centre plan revealed

8 February 2012

The plan to redevelop the heart of Coventry has taken a significant step forward with the release of a detailed blueprint for the regeneration of a major part of the city centre, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Network Rail unveils retail line up for King's Cross station

7 February 2012

The brands include American Apparel, Kiehl’s and Watermark, all of which will be newcomers to King’s Cross.

Shop vacancies stabilise at 14.3% but worse to come in 2012

7 February 2012

Shop vacancy rates have stabilised at 14.3% but the number of empty retail units is expected to rise again this year as consumers increasingly move away from the high street.

MWB poaches De Vere finance director

6 February 2012

MWB Group has appointed former De Vere finance director Paul Roberts to its Malmaison and Hotel du Vin chains.

Government launches Portas Town Teams pilots

4 February 2012

Grant Shapps is expected to announce today that the government will launch a series of pilots to test Mary Portas’ Town Teams recommendation, as tipped by Property Week earlier this week.

Calvin Klein’s Great Eastern odyssey

03 February 2012

Calvin Klein parent Warnaco Group has preleased an office block in London’s Shoreditch at around £36/sq ft.

Co-op hire signals urban expansion

03 February 2012

The Co-operative Group has hired Stephen McDonald from Lidl as regional acquisitions manager for central and eastern England.

Forever 21 fashions fast European rollout

03 February 2012

Four French and first German stores follow debut on continent at Bullring last year

Green shoots in the gardening sector

03 February 2012

While DIY retailers struggle, garden centres enjoy growth in sales. Rachel Hunter reports

India wakes up to Starbucks

03 February 2012

Coffee chain Starbucks has teamed up with Tata Global Beverages to open the first Starbucks coffee shop in India.

Massimo Dutti fit for King’s Rd

03 February 2012

The Cadogan Estate has remodelled part of its Duke of York Square development on King’s Road in Chelsea to attract a new fashion anchor and another entrant to the UK retail market.

Portas business rates remedy is too little too late

03 February 2012

It is no secret that our high streets are suffering: landlords know it, retailers know it and, of course, Mary Portas knows it.

Prepacked Jane Norman joins Wolsey Place line-up

03 February 2012

Woking shopping centre extension will now open fully let. Sarah Stewart reports

Q+A: Hammerson’s Bullring man

03 February 2012

Hammerson’s new portfolio director, Martin Plocica, joined the company in October to oversee the running of six of the REIT’s largest centres in the UK, including its Birmingham flagship, the Bullring. David Hatcher spoke to the American about the future of the 1.2m sq ft centre

Rocket to remake Old Street block

03 February 2012

An unloved block off Old Street roundabout is to be redeveloped into a 150,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme.

Freeport leases in Portugal

31 January 2012

Carlyle-owned retail developer Freeport has leased eight of ten units at an extension to its Freeport Outlet Alcochete retail centre in Portugal.

British luxury brand sets New Bond Street record

30 January 2012

British brand Belstaff has set a new record rent on London’s luxury highway, New Bond Street.

Terrace Hill signs Sainsbury's at Sedgefield

30 January 2012

Terrace Hill has signed a contract with Sainsbury’s for the development of a 50,000 sq ft store in Sedgefield.

LandSecs agrees four new prelets at Buchanan Street

27 January 2012

Land Securities has secured four retailers at its 155,000 sq ft Buchanan Street development in Glasgow.

Bonmarché prepack adds to shop closures

27 January 2012

Struggling discount fashion chain Bonmarché announced it would close 160 shops this week after it was bought in a prepack administration by Sun European Partners.

Clinton Cards: pushing the envelope

27 January 2012

Those in the property industry have been wondering when Clinton Cards would wake up and smell the coffee, as the retailer grapples with how to reduce the £80m annual rent bill on its 771-store estate.

Game: playing the waiting game

27 January 2012

Following poor Christmas trading at Game Group, landlords and investors were rocked by news that the quoted retailer stands to breach banking covenants when tested at the end of February, causing its shares to plunge 25% in a single day.

Hammerson to create Monument to Newcastle retail

27 January 2012

REIT to begin revamp of city centre mall in April. Sarah Stewart reports

Monsoon moots monthly rent

27 January 2012

Fashion retailer slams “archaic” quarterly payments in confidential letter to landlords

Retail renaissance will begin when rents hit the shop floor

27 January 2012

Early indications suggest an OK Christmas, as trading statements were not as bad as many had feared.

BPF criticises government pre-pack U-turn

26 January 2012

The British Property Federation has criticised the government for scrapping plans for new legislation aimed at improving transparency around the pre-pack administration process.

Government makes pre-pack U-turn

26 January 2012

The government has backed down on plans to overhaul legislation around pre-pack deals aimed at improving transparency around the controversial administration practice.

Morrisons' Kiddicare brand takes on 10 Best Buy stores

26 January 2012

Morrisons’ Kiddicare brand has agreed to take on the leases of 10 former Best Buy stores from Carphone Warehouse.

Crown and Norges complete Jaeger House buy

26 January 2012

The Regent Street Partnership, the joint venture between The Crown Estate and Norges Bank, has completed its purchase of Jaeger’s flagship store on London’s Regent Street.

LaSalle forward purchases part of Lawley retail scheme

25 January 2012

Development Securities’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Henry Davidson Developments, has pre-sold part of its 4.5 acre development site in Lawley, Telford, to a client of LaSalle Investment Management for around £12m.

Oliver Bonas to open 10 shops this year

25 January 2012

Fashion and homewear retailer, Oliver Bonas, is looking to expand its UK store portfolio with a target of 10 further shops in the coming year.

CSC buys Braehead and Spanish development sites from Peel Group

25 January 2012

Capital Shopping Centres has agreed a deal with Peel Group to buy strategic land sites which will enable it to extend its Braehead shopping centre in Glasgow and undertake its first international development since demerging.

Designer Carolina Herrera to open second London store

24 January 2012

Luxury fashion designer Carolina Herrera has signed to open its second London store at the Wellcome Trust’s South Kensington Estate.

Lotus to open flagship retail store on Regent Street

23 January 2012

Lotus Originals, the luxury clothing and accessories brand launched by car company Lotus, has signed to open its global flagship store at 52 Regent Street in London’s Piccadilly.

Asda to "create 5,000 jobs" with £500m investment

23 January 2012

US-owned supermarket chain Asda said today it would invest more than £500m in to its UK shops this year, including opening 25 new stores and three depots.

Crown drops Jones Lang LaSalle because of King Sturge merger

20 January 2012

The Crown Estate has dropped Jones Lang LaSalle as its property manager for its regional portfolio.

‘Brompton Diamond’ up for sale

20 January 2012

An undeveloped residential and retail scheme with a potential end value of £115m, dubbed the “Brompton Diamond”, is to be put up for sale in London’s Knightsbridge.

Clarke will need trademark charm to steer Tesco supertanker back on course

20 January 2012

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Philip Clarke’s appointment as chief executive of Tesco in June 2010 was widely seen as underpinning the supermarket’s international ambitions

Hollister hits Edinburgh high street

20 January 2012

US fashion retailer Hollister has signed up for its first non-shopping centre store in the UK, in Edinburgh.

John Lewis ties up Ipswich regen scheme

20 January 2012

Planning consent has been granted for a £100m Ipswich regeneration scheme that will comprise a combined John Lewis at Home and Waitrose store — the country’s first.

Meadowhall sale sparks overseas cash courtship

20 January 2012

Mould and Vaughan to sell 50% stake in Sheffield mall, while Whittaker reveals CSC could follow suit

More big names collapsed in 2011 than ever before

20 January 2012

The number of retailers entering administration in 2011 increased by 11% on 2010, Deloitte’s latest figures show. Of the 183 businesses that collapsed last year, 42 went under in the last quarter.

Peacocks blue after admin

20 January 2012

Budget retailer Peacocks plunged into administration this week, in one of the biggest retailing collapses since Woolworths suffered the same fate in 2008.

Portas encourages betting shop bill

20 January 2012

A private members’ bill calling for a cap on betting shops to stop their proliferation on struggling high streets will have its second reading in parliament today.

Retail investor gets the show on the road

20 January 2012

Roadside Retail was only established a year ago and it already has a portfolio of five development projects that total 270,000 sq ft.

Restaurants sign up at Trowbridge scheme

19 January 2012

Frankie & Benny’s and Prezzo have signed up to take space at Innox Riverside, a leisure-led mixed-use scheme in Trowbridge.

Helical's Solihull scheme to finally start following long-running planning saga

19 January 2012

The final chapter in a long running development saga will begin in May when work finally begins on the Shirley Parkgate scheme in Shirley, Solihull, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

£350m tower gets the go-ahead in Croydon

19 January 2012

A scheme to construct a 55 storey high rise tower in the centre of Croydon has been granted planning consent.

Over 100 Woolworths' stores still vacant

19 January 2012

Some 13% of Woolworths’ 815 high street stores are still vacant, three years after the discount retailer collapsed into administration.

Peacocks collapses into administration

18 January 2012

Administrators have today been appointed to The Peacock Group in what is one of the biggest retailing collapses since Woolworths went into administration in 2008.

Waitrose to open first Birmingham city centre store

18 January 2012

Waitrose has confirmed its first store in Birmingham city centre will open in March, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Dixons to halve high street stores

17 January 2012

Dixons Retail has reported a 5% dip in like-for-like sales over the Christmas period, as it continues to trim back its store portfolio.

Past Times enters administration

16 January 2012

Struggling retailer Past Times has collapsed into administration today with administrators at KPMG having been appointed.

Orchard Street buys remaining 50% of Carmarthen mall

16 January 2012

Orchard Street Investment Management has bought the remaining half of the freehold of St Catherine’s Walk shopping centre in Carmarthen for £40.7m on behalf of St James’s Place Wealth Management.

Camden Lock Market bought by Brockton-backed jv

16 January 2012

The iconic Camden Lock Market in North London has been purchased by Urban Market Company in a joint venture between the founders of Camden Lock and the retail development firm, Milligan.

Barratts bought out of administration

16 January 2012

Shoe retailer Barratts Priceless has been bought out of administration by its existing management team.

LaSalle buys Market Walk Shopping Centre

13 January 2012

LaSalle Investment Management has bought Market Walk Shopping Centre in Devon for £12.75m.

CBRE appointed to manage La Senza portfolio

13 January 2012

The new Kuwaiti owner of lingerie chain La Senza has appointed CBRE to manage its UK portfolio.

Portas’s retail vision relies on new fiscal models for success

13 January 2012

As we step forward into the somewhat unknown territory of 2012, it would be all too easy to continue to paint a bleak and desolate landscape, as companies and even nations are defaulting on a daily basis.

Retail investments’ Europe surprise

13 January 2012

Retail investment volumes in Europe increased by a third in 2011, despite reports of a dent in consumer confidence across the continent.

Savills retail team goes back to the floor

13 January 2012

Savills’ shopping centre management experts spend a day with tenants. David Hatcher reports

LXB nabs Morrisons in Stafford

12 January 2012

LXB Retail Properties has secured an option to buy an eight acre site in Kingsmead, Stafford for £16.9m and has pre-let a 71,500 sq ft supermarket on the site to Morrisons.

Home Retail Group abandons HomeStore & More format

12 January 2012

Home Retail Group, owner of the Argos and Homebase brands, is abandoning its HomeStore & More homewares format.

Tesco reveals "disappointing" Christmas trading

12 January 2012

Tesco this morning revealed a “disappointing” UK trading performance over the Christmas and New Year period.

Greggs plans expansion and reveals bumper Christmas

11 January 2012

Bakery chain Greggs said it would open 90 stores this year as it reported a bumper performance in the five week Christmas and New Year period.

Sainsbury’s boosted by festive sales growth

11 January 2012

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has reported its “best Christmas ever” after posting like-for-like sales growth for the third quarter of 4.8%.

Harvey Nicks to open at Liverpool One

10 January 2012

Harvey Nichols has announced that it is to open a new concept smaller store at Grosvenor’s Liverpool One scheme, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

La Senza prepack deal can’t save whole business

9 January 2012

Lingerie retailer La Senza has appointed KPMG as administrators and sold part of the business to a Kuwait-based franchise operator, Alshaya UK, in a prepack deal.

Crown and Nordics secure Regent Street £50m head lease

9 January 2012

The Regent Street Partnership has exchanged contracts to buy the head lease of 200-206 Regent Street, for £50m.

Christmas cheer at Bluewater

9 January 2012

Bluewater has reported a strong Christmas period in which footfall for December was up 8% compared with the previous year.

Blacks heads for administration

6 January 2012

Blacks Leisure has signalled its intention to appoint partners at KMPG as administrators.

La Senza kicks off retail cull

06 January 2012

A cull of stores by struggling retailers began this week, after a torrid Christmas caused a series of casualties.

Spanish hairdresser Marco Aldany cuts a dash in London

06 January 2012

Spanish hairdresser Marco Aldany will be the first foreign occupier to arrive in the UK this year, when it opens later this month at 93 Tottenham Court Road in central London.

Swindon’s Brunel Centre succumbs

06 January 2012

The Brunel Centre in Swindon was put into receivership just before Christmas, as indebted shopping centres outside London continue to struggle.

Swedish property company in circa €450m retail deal

5 January 2012

Swedish property company AMF Fastigheter has bought three shopping centre in downtown Stockholm.

JLL's 2012 predictions revealed

4 January 2012

Jones Lang LaSalle’s annual property predictions paint a cautious picture of the year ahead with a few chinks of light expected to shine through. Here, PropertyWeek.com presents the notable findings in retail, capital markets, offices, development and industrial.

Mark Williams quits DTZ

3 January 2012

Mark Williams is to depart DTZ having spent 26 years at the firm.

Retail footfall at 2009 recession levels

28 December 2011

Boxing Day footfall for Britain’s retailers was at the same level as the economic nadir of 2009, as the sector struggles to pull itself out of the doldrums.

Great Portland Estates sells in Savile Row

21 December 2011

Great Portland Estates has sold the long leasehold interest in 28-29 Savile Row to Aerium Finance Limited and Allied London.

A very Burberry Christmas in Victoria

16 December 2011

Label in advanced talks to take Derwent London’s 120,000 sq ft 1a Page Street for UK headquarters expansion

Portas’s review has out-of-town retail in its sights

16 December 2011

Fears expressed over “exceptional sign-off” proposal for any new developments

Review highlights landlords’ responsibility to high street

16 December 2011

Let’s face it, the consumer will determine the future of the high street.

Royal London appoints JLL to find Whitgift partner

15 December 2011

Royal London Asset Management has appointed Jones Lang LaSalle to find a partner for its redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre in Croydon.

Pradera refinances major polish shopping centre

14 December 2011

Pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has provided a € 38.5m loan to Pradera in order to refinance a major Polish shopping centre.

More high street heartache from La Senza and Thomas Cook

14 December 2011

Two high street retailers are taking measures to reduce the amount of shops they own in the face of the gloomy retail environment.

Portas Review: guru launches out-of-town attack

13 December 2011

“Queen of Shops” Mary Portas has today recommended the government tighten restrictions on out-of-town retail, including demanding planning sign-off from the secretary of state on all new retail developments outside town centres.

Portas Review: BPF backs BID proposals

13 December 2011

Landlords have welcomed a key recommendation from retail guru Mary Portas that would free them to deliver significant extra investment in the nation’s problem high streets.

Portas Review: In Full

13 December 2011

Mary Portas has today published her recommendations for saving the UK’s ailing high streets. Download them in full here

Belgian investor Vabeld buys in Liverpool

12 December 2011

Belgian property investment company Vabeld Real Estate has bought a retail property in Liverpool from Axa Real Estate for £7.15m.

Prupim to buy Brum Morrisons at sub 4.5% yield

12 December 2011

Prupim has placed a Morrisons supermarket development in Birmingham under offer for around £50m, reflecting a yield of less than 4.5%.

£62.5m West End Foyles portfolio on the block

9 December 2011

The Foyle family have put a Soho portfolio of 10 properties up for sale for £62.5m.

Aspers hits jackpot in Stratford

9 December 2011

First of UK’s eight “super casinos” opens in Westfield Stratford City. Christine Eade reports

Brockton Capital and Pradera to play first-generation game

9 December 2011

Property fund and asset manager to invest £250m in early out-of-town retail parks

Henderson: European Retail Warehousing - November 2011

9 December 2011

During 2010 we wrote a “Think” report about European retail warehousing and asked, “will this rough diamond get its sparkle back?” In mid 2010 we had seen approximately twelve months of either stabilisation or recovery in prime property markets but the retail warehouse sector had largely been overlooked by investors.

Mary, Mary, how will your high street grow?

9 December 2011

The “queen of shops” is due to give her answer as early as next week, when she reveals her retail rescue package. Kat Baker reports

Peacocks considers closing around 200 stores

8 December 2011

Budget fashion retailer Peacocks is said to be considering the closure of around 200 of its stores as it struggles to get its finances back on track.

Retailers queue for Best Buy stores

8 December 2011

Retailers including John Lewis at Home, Kiddicare and Next are lining up to take on Best Buy’s abandoned out-of-town stores.

L&G completes £56m Meadows Shopping Centre purchase

7 December 2011

Legal & General Property has bought The Meadows Shopping Centre in Chelmsford, Essex, for £56.1m, as tipped by Property Week (20/7/11).

LXB secures resolution to grant planning at Metz Way in Gloucester

7 December 2011

LXB Retail has obtained a resolution to grant planning permission for its Metz Way retail and mixed-use development in Gloucester. 

Calzedonia opens first UK store in Cheapside

2 December 2011

Italian hosiery and beachwear brand Calzedonia has signed to open its first UK store in Cheapside, London.

Developers could be cooking on gas in Chelmsford

2 December 2011

British Land, Bride Hall and Aquila shortlisted to develop Waterside scheme on former gasworks

Fabergé hatches return to London

2 December 2011

Russian jeweller Fabergé has returned to the UK and opened its first London store since World War I.

Russian Debenhams to open in September

2 December 2011

Debenhams is to open its first store in Russia, as part of its global expansion drive.

Wereldhave makes way for Ealing Broadway

2 December 2011

Wereldhave Property Management has completed the purchase of Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre from Legal & General Property for £155.5m

Deka closes in on £125m Leeds shopping centre buy

1 December 2011

German fund manager Deka is in advanced talks to buy the Victoria Quarter shopping centre in Leeds for around £125m.

Carphone Warehouse boss funds BoxPark pop-up mall

1 December 2011

Carphone Warehouse co-founder Charles Dunstone has been unveiled as the major backer for BoxPark, which will open the world’s first pop-up mall in Shoreditch, east London this weekend.

The Local Shopping REIT on the hunt for distressed assets

1 December 2011

Net asset value at The Local Shopping REIT fell by 6.2% in its 2011 financial year due to a valuation decline in its high street focused retail portfolio.

Morrisons and Willmott Dixon selected for £65m Walthamstow scheme

29 November 2011

Morrisons and Willmott Dixon have been selected to develop a £65m, 1.5 hectare brownfield site in Walthamstow town centre.

Land Securities ends Brand Empire initiative

29 November 2011

Land Securities’ subsidiary Brand Empire has ended its agreement with Grupo Cortefiel, one of Spain’s largest and leading fashion retailers, and has closed the eight stores currently trading in the UK. 

NewRiver boosts dividend after strong asset growth

29 November 2011

NewRiver Retail said today that it had increased its interim dividend fivefold after strong growth in its assets in the six months to 30 September.

Leeds cinema set for redevelopment

25 November 2011

A landmark north Leeds building is to be redeveloped into a supermarketm restaurant and apartments under plans unveiled by ATC Properties, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

CBRE: How active are retailers in EMEA?

25 November 2011

Retailers continue to expand their store networks, in many cases aggressively, in spite of the challenging consumer environment and an increasing share of spending online.

Designer Dome: Outlet centre planned for O2

25 November 2011

AEG Europe and Pradera prepare plans for outlet village to transform O2 into day-and-night venue

Glatman’s Abstract to spec NAMA East Croydon site

25 November 2011

A prominent 1.13 acre site next to East Croydon station has been sold by NAMA (Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency), amid plans to speculatively develop a 100,000 sq ft office scheme there.

Jewellery brand close to collapse again

25 November 2011

Rent fears as Half Price Jewellery’s new owner gives notice of administration

Skagen: time is right to expand

25 November 2011

Danish watch and jewellery retailer Skagen plans to expand across the UK after opening two stores at Westfield London and Stratford City this year.

Arcadia to close 250 stores says Sir Philip Green

24 November 2011

Arcadia Group will close up to 250 stores over the next three years, chief executive Sir Phillip Green said today.

LandSecs secures planning for Crawley supermarket and hotel

23 November 2011

Land Securities and St James’ Investments have secured planning consent for the redevelopment of Sussex House in Crawley.

Boris Johnson pledges £23m to rejuvenate Croydon after riots

22 November 2011

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has today announced he will invest £23m to help return Croydon to a major commercial centre, following the August riots that devastated the town centre.

MAPIC 2011: The MAPIC round-up with Peter Courtney

21 November 2011

Retail expert Peter Courtney joins Property Week’s features editor Hardeep Sandher on the Croisette in Cannes to go over the major themes from this year’s MAPIC retail conference,

‘Bigger than McDonald’s’ Greggs hits the road

18 November 2011

Food retailer to expand on to east Midlands industrial parks. David Hatcher reports

M&S and Harvey Nicks icing on cake for CSC in Nottingham

18 November 2011

CSC to acquire prelets with £55m Westfield Broadmarsh purchase. David Hatcher reports

Vacancy rates show gradual improvement

18 November 2011

Analysis of the 79,570 shop premises in 329 retail centres that Local Data Company visited in the third quarter of 2011 show a positive average improvement of 12.4%

Westfield defiant at Whitgift mall

18 November 2011

Westfield is confident its plans to redevelop the Whitgift Centre in Croydon will progress after stakeholders challenged its involvement last week.

MAPIC 2011: Freeport eyes Western Europe for factory outlet development

17 November 2011

European outlet mall company Freeport is eyeing western Europe for expansion following its £100m refinancing by owner Carlyle Group.

McArthurGlen to open first Vancouver outlet

17 November 2011

McArthurGlen Group is to partner with the Vancouver Airport Authority to open its first outlet in the Canadian city.

MAPIC 2011: Shopping centres are not being over-valued says Land Securities' Akers

17 November 2011

Shopping centres are not being over-valued, Richard Akers, managing director of Land Securities’ retail portfolio, said at MAPIC, although he conceded that rental valuations “haven’t changed as fast as they should.”

MAPIC 2011: Resolution buys into €60m Polish scheme

17 November 2011

Resolution Property has extended its reach into the Polish retail market after having bought an 80% stake in the €60m development of the Supersam shopping centre in Katowice.

Metric delivers strong results amidst “turbulent economic backdrop”

17 November 2011

Metric Property Investments this morning delivered a positive set of half year results, with an increase in net asset value per share of 5.8% for the year, up from 97p to 104p.

MAPIC 2011: Ed's Easy Diner plans international expansion

16 November 2011

Ed’s Easy Diner, the American diner concept is aiming to double the number of restaurants it has in 2012 as well as eyeing an ambitious international expansion programme. 

MAPIC 2011: Asia buoyant in retail market

16 November 2011

Asia continues to enjoy strong retail growth with more brands turning their eyes eastwards, as sales in Europe turn negative, research by Cushman & Wakefield has found.

MAPIC 2011: La Vie en Rose to launch in UK in three years

16 November 2011

Canadian lingerie brand La Vie en Rose is planning to launch into the UK market in three years as an entry into Europe.

Oxford retail block sold to DTZ IM

16 November 2011

AIB Investment Managers has sold the Northgate Quarter in Oxford to DTZ Investment Management for £31.6m.

Ted Baker to open flagship on world's most expensive retail street

16 November 2011

Ted Baker is to open a flagship store on New York’s Fifth Avenue in a move that shows the continuing appeal of the globe’s most prime retail locations.

MAPIC 2011: Starwood to roll out Aloft brand

15 November 2011

Following the opening of Starwood’s first UK Aloft-branded hotel in London last week, the hotel operator is looking to expand the brand across the country.

Lincoln city centre retail development plans submitted

15 November 2011

Lincolnshire Cooperative Society and Lincoln Council have submitted an outline planning application to revive a former Modus retail development in Lincoln City Centre.

Metric creates £150m retail jv with USS

15 November 2011

Metric Property Investments has entered into a £150m joint venture with USS to snap up smaller retail properties.

PWTV: Peter de Soissons gives you your MAPIC preview

14 November 2011

The MAPIC conference in Cannes this year will have 8% more attendees than last year, meaning around 8,000 retail property professionals will be descending on the French resort.

Bluewater opens new dining Plaza

11 November 2011

Bluewater has today opened its new dining destination, The Plaza.

Cap & Reg reduces debt and increases occupancy

11 November 2011

Capital & Regional reported this morning that it repaid a total of £143.6m between the end of June and 10 November.

Feed your olympics app-etite

11 November 2011

The first free update to Property Week’s Olympic iPad app is in the App Store now under Property Week +. It is packed with new information on the developments in and around the Olympic Park, in addition to the indispensable original content published in July. Here is a taster …

Occupiers’ eye: birth of House of Fraser.com

11 November 2011

Next Friday, the second of two pilot House of Fraser “click and collect” stores will open in Liverpool One, Grosvenor’s 42 acre shopping-led development in the heart of the city.

Royal London challenges Westfield's Croydon plans

10 November 2011

Westfield’s plans to redevelop the Whitgift Centre have been challenged after one of the key stakeholders said it had not been consulted on the deal.

Land Securities enjoys 4.5% NAV rise

10 November 2011

Land Securities has enjoyed a 4.5% net asset value rise since the end of March, but the UK’s biggest property company said it expected difficulties in managing occupancy in the tough economic climate.

Simply Be signs for first and only out of town store

9 November 2011

Simply Be has signed to open its first and only out of town store at British Land’s Teesside Shopping Park in Stockton-on-Tees.

Crown Estate to fund MK1 Shopping Park development

9 November 2011

The Crown Estate is to fund the development of the MK1 Shopping Park in Milton Keynes with developer Inter MK.

Electricals retailer Comet sold for £2

9 November 2011

Electricals retailer Comet, which operates from 250 stores, will be sold to Hailey Holdings and Hailey Acquisitions for just £2.

Royal wedding perfumery Illuminum signs for first UK store

7 November 2011

Perfume brand Illuminum, which was the official fragrance of the royal wedding, has signed to open its first UK store at 41-42 Dover Street in London’s West End.

Yorkshire property entrepreneur sets up retail service

4 November 2011

A Yorkshire property entrepreneur has launched a new retail space service that has seen his operation acquire a £2.5m unit in the region, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Five Guys tries UK

4 November 2011

US burger chain Five Guys aims to launch in the UK for its first restaurants outside the US.

Make or break for retail property’s middle men

4 November 2011

Manchester’s September BCSC conference was buzzing. Only one top retail agent wasn’t happy.

Peter Andre to roll out New York Coffee Club chain

4 November 2011

Singer and reality TV star Peter Andre is preparing to open his first coffee shop next week and aims to roll out the New York Coffee Club brand across the south-east and London.

Shift in Newbury shops is sign of the times

4 November 2011

Opening of Parkway echoes national changes to retail sector. Christine Eade reports

Preston's Tithebarn back to the drawing board after John Lewis exit

3 November 2011

Council leaders today said they will have to go back to the drawing board and reform plans to redevelop the Titheburn area of preston following John Lewis’s announcement that it would no longer anchor the £700m scheme.

John Lewis pulls out of anchoring Lend Lease's £700m Preston scheme

3 November 2011

Preston’s £700m Tithebarn regeneration scheme is dead in the water after anchor tenant John Lewis pulled out of the project, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Monki and Cheap Monday sign for first UK stores

1 November 2011

H&M brands Monki and Cheap Monday have signed to open their first UK stores in two adjacent shops on Carnaby Street.

Squarestone Brasil's Golden Square mall extension collapses

31 October 2011

Part of the extension to Squarestone Brasil’s Golden Square shopping centre in Sao Paulo has collapsed following the structural failure of a significant part of the pre-cast concrete frame.

DTZ Investment Market Update: UK Shopping Centres Q3 2011

28 October 2011

There have been 16 transactions in Q3 2011 totalling £447m, a significant increase on the £339m transacted in Q2. Despite this, it has been a quiet summer period, with little new stock appearing until September.

Centres to show shoppers only way is Essex

28 October 2011

In the past three years, the county’s three main shopping centres in Ilford, Romford, Thurrock and Chelmsford have faced the challenges of a tough economy. Following last month’s opening of Westfield’s Stratford City in east London, a new threat looms. Sarah Stewart investigates which centre has the most to lose and what they are doing to keep Lauren Goodger, star of The Only Way is Essex, who has been seen in Westfield Stratford City and Lakeside and others ...

Kvik fixes on 100 UK stores

28 October 2011

Danish kitchen and bathroom retailer Kvik is to expand into the UK

Stapleton knits together Brora retail empire

28 October 2011

One smart property move enabled retailer founder to expand into 15 stores. Christine Eade reports

Quidnet buys £37m Treaty Centre as its first purchase

27 October 2011

Quidnet Capital Partners, with financial backing from US-based private equity investor Angelo Gordon & Co, has bought its first asset after exchanging to buy the Treaty Centre in Hounslow, West London, for just over £37m.

Vintage retailer Beyond Retro opens London flagship store

27 October 2011

Vintage fashion retailer Beyond Retro has opened its London flagship store in Dalston, East London.

Aviva to sell Captain Cook Square mall for £26m

27 October 2011

Aviva Investors is looking to sell its Captain Cook Square shopping centre in Middlesbrough for £26m and a yield of 8.25%.

One Hyde Park McLaren store sold to Hong Kong investor

26 October 2011

The McLaren store at the One Hyde Park scheme is understood to have been sold to a Hong Kong businessman for just under £11.5m.

Mary Portas to recommend charity shop cap on high streets

26 October 2011

Mary Portas, the government’s high street guru, is expected to use her review to recommend that local authorities should be given the power to limit the number of charity shops on UK high streets to enable more variety.

Cushmans hires Asia retail expert to tap into retailers' expansion plans

25 October 2011

Cushman & Wakefield has hired Asia retail expert Tracy Lu to its cross-border retail team in London to grow its representation of international and Asian retail brands on their expansion strategies between Asia, Europe and other global regions. 

Grosvenor wins Burton Debenhams planning permission

21 October 2011

Grosvenor this week won planning approval for an extension to its Coopers Square shopping centre in Burton, Staffordshire, which will feature a new Debenhams department store.

Lok’nStore agrees £40m debt facility with Lloyds

21 October 2011

Lok’nStore, the AIM listed self-storage company, has secured a new banking facility with Lloyds TSB.

House of Fraser opens first buy and collect store

21 October 2011

House of Fraser has today opened its first new concept store at Hammerson’s Union Square shopping centre in Aberdeen.

Decathlon expansion up and running

21 October 2011

Sports retailer’s plan to open 50 UK stores by 2016 starts with three this year

Jongleurs founder Marie Kempinska has last laugh

21 October 2011

Marie Kempinska finally uses “difficult to remember” own name for 19th comedy club. Christine Eade reports

LaSalle takes Front Row seat for Leeds arena development

21 October 2011

LaSalle Investment Management has submitted plans for a leisure and hospitality development next to Leeds’ £80m city centre arena.

Retailers condemn ‘illogical and discriminatory’ cigarettes and alcohol levy

21 October 2011

The Scottish Retail Consortium wants increased clarity on the threshold by which businesses will be charged and which superstores will be affected.

Plans submitted for major Halifax retail redevelopment

20 October 2011

Royal London Asset Management has submitted plans for the redevelopment of a shopping centre in the Yorkshire minster town of Halifax, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Debenhams to join LandSecs' Ravenside Retail Park as it plans further expansion

20 October 2011

Debenhams will open a 62,000 sq ft department store on Land Securities’ Ravenside Retail Park in Chesterfield.

Argos teams up with Haier Group for Chinese venture

19 October 2011

Home Retail Group has launched an Argos-branded joint venture company to develop a multi-channel, general merchandise retail business in China with Haier Group, the home appliance manufacturer.

Russian jeweller Maxim Voznesensky moves onto Bond Street

18 October 2011

Russian jeweller Maxim Voznesensky has signed to open its first UK store on Old Bond Street.

Land Securities buys Preston's St John's Centre

18 October 2011

Land Securities has bought the St John’s Centre in Preston in a £5m-plus deal, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Grosvenor's Coopers Square mall gets go ahead for expansion

17 October 2011

East Staffordshire Borough Council has granted preliminary planning permission for the proposed extension of Grosvenor’s Coopers Square Shopping Centre in Burton-upon-Trent.

Dixons chief: 'stores have a key role in this marketplace'

14 October 2011

Fast-growing “multichannel” retail is dependent on physical shops and salespeople

H&M agents out of commission

14 October 2011

Retailer joins Land Securities and Hammerson in reviewing agents’ role

LandSecs to brighten up Piccadilly Lights

14 October 2011

REIT to remodel block into Jamie’s Italian restaurant and flagship shop

West Sussex Body Shop site presold to Morrisons

14 October 2011

Development Securities and Berkshire Investment Capital have presold the site of the former Body Shop headquarters in West Sussex to supermarket group Morrisons.

Wolverhampton grants permission for three new supermarkets

13 October 2011

The go-ahead for three new supermarkets to be built in Wolverhampton has been granted by the city council, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Urban Outfitters signs for Meadowhall

13 October 2011

Urban Outfitters has signed to open an 11,000 sq ft store at British Land and London & Stamford’s Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield.

Pramerica closes S$3bn Asian retail fund

11 October 2011

Pramerica Real Estate Investors has completed the fundraising for a S$3bn (£1.5bn) Asian shopping centre fund.

Le Bunny Bleu to open first UK store

10 October 2011

US shoe retailer Le Bunny Bleu will open its first UK store at Westfield Stratford.

Treveria secures three-year €424m debt extension

10 October 2011

Treveria, the German retail property company with a €1.37bn property portfolio, has agreed a key loan extension with one of its lenders.

Bank of Ireland plans £135m Leeds mall sale

7 October 2011

Bank of Ireland Private Banking is looking to sell its Victoria Quarter shopping centre in Leeds for £135m.

Halifax retail schemes head to market

7 October 2011

Broad Street Plaza and Woolshops cure city’s retail stock drought

Need to know: receivers seek Core values in Leeds

7 October 2011

What is the Core?

Pandora opens box in Bicester Village

7 October 2011

Danish jewellery retailer Pandora is trialling a new concept: its first factory outlet store at Value Retail’s Bicester Village in Oxfordshire

BCSC urges Portas to reinstate empty rates relief and implement stronger town centre first policy

6 October 2011

The retail property industry has urged Mary Portas to use her review to recommend reinstating tax relief for empty property and to implement a stronger town centre first policy for development in the new National Planning Policy Framework.

LXB to develop South East Ayr retail centre, offices and homes

4 October 2011

LXB Retail Properties has bought 118 acres at Corton in South East Ayr, Scotland, where it plans to develop a district retail centre, business space and up to 800 homes.

Henderson buys Dunelm Mill retail warehouse in Birmingham

3 October 2011

Henderson’s UK Property Fund has acquired a Dunelm Mill retail warehouse unit in Birmingham, following the sale of Hunts Cross Retail Park in Liverpool.

CBRE buys Dutch shopping centre management SCM Europe

30 September 2011

CB Richard Ellis Group has bought SCM Europe, a Dutch shopping centre management company, strengthening its position in the European retail real estate sector.

Wickes to take half its stores offline

30 September 2011

DIY retailer to shift focus to “multi-channel” sales

Atrium Czechs into Prague with €191m shopping centre buy

30 September 2011

Atrium European Real Estate has bought the Palác Flóra shopping centre in Prague for €191m, in the largest property deal in the Czech capital this year

DTZ’s Liverpool retail park

30 September 2011

DTZ Investment Management has bought Hunts Cross Retail Park in Liverpool for £8.5m, reflecting a net initial yield of just less than 7%

European brands eye London

30 September 2011

Two European retailers are preparing to open their debut UK stores in London before Christmas

Henderson buys in Forchheim

30 September 2011

Henderson’s German Retail Income Fund has made its second purchase, a retail warehouse in Forchheim, Germany, for €13m, from Graf von Thun und Hohenstein Veit Vermögensverwaltungs KG. Among the tenants at the 8,500 sq ft retail park are Aldi, Edeka and Kling. Arina Consult advised Henderson.

Peacocks swallows pride to ask for monthly rent

30 September 2011

Sony store operator put into administration ahead of September quarter day

Rockspring buys in Dortmund for German Retail Box Fund

30 September 2011

Rockspring Property Investment Managers has bought a retail warehouse in Dortmund on behalf of its German Retail Box Fund for €36.5m

Retailer Alexon bought by Sun European in prepack deal

29 September 2011

Women’s fashion retailer Alexon has been bought by private equity firm Sun European Partners today as part of a pre-pack administration deal.

Ellandi and Miller Developments buy £20m Kent mall with development play

28 September 2011

Ellandi has teamed up with Miller Developments and Middle Eastern investors advised by WW Advisors, to buy the Walnuts Shopping Centre in Orpington, Kent, for a price thought to be around £20m.

Retail CVAs jump by a quarter

28 September 2011

The number of retailers using company voluntary arrangements (CVA) to renegotiate their debts with landlords has jumped by almost a quarter in a year, according to research by City law firm Wedlake Bell.

Plans submitted for York stadium and shopping scheme

27 September 2011

Plans have been submitted for a 6,000-seat stadium and retail scheme in York, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Game closes 26 stores

27 September 2011

Game Group has closed 26 stores since the start of the year, the retailer announced in its interim results today.

Atrium buys €191m former Quinlan shopping centre

27 September 2011

Atrium European Real Estate Limited has bought the Palác Flóra shopping centre in Prague for €191 million from its two previous owners, AFI Europe and Avestus Capital Partners – the former fund management company of Derek Quinlan. 

Bimba & Lola to open first UK store at Westfield London

26 September 2011

Spanish fashion brand bimba & lola is entering the UK market for the first time with a new store due to open at Westfield London in October.

Westfield submits plans for £1bn White City extension

23 September 2011

Westfield has submitted an outline planning application to develop a £1bn extension to its White City shopping centre in West London.

Squarestone Brasil enjoys 24% NAV rise

23 September 2011

Squarestone Brasil demonstrated further proof of the strength of the emerging markets by achieving a 24% rise in net asset value in the first six months of the year.

Bazaar goings on in Liverpool

23 September 2011

Harvey Nichols is close to securing the first UK site for its Beauty Bazaar beauty and cosmetics store concept

Hercules feels £350m force of Aareal bank

23 September 2011

Retail park owner wins new credit line ahead of refinancing next year

Irish Petstop purrs into UK

23 September 2011

Irish pet accessories retailer Petstop is preparing to branch out from Ireland and debut in the UK

Rockspring jumps on Hornbach

23 September 2011

Rockspring Property Investment Managers has purchased a retail warehouse in Dortmund on behalf of the Rockspring German Retail Box Fund

The Junction revises retail plans in region

23 September 2011

The Junction fund is dusting off plans for its £30m retail scheme at Oldbury Shopping Park in the West Midlands

West End shopping is one of London’s best assets

23 September 2011

Retail is a powerful catalyst for regeneration and renewal

Wereldhave picked as preferred bidder for £150m Ealing Broadway shopping centre

22 September 2011

Dutch property investor Wereldhave is understood to have been picked as the preferred bidder to buy Ealing Broadway shopping centre in West London.

Tesco buys Multi's 50% stake in Forum Liberec in the Czech Republic

22 September 2011

Multi Development has sold its 50% stake in the Forum Liberec shopping centre in the Czech Republic to Tesco.

LXB plans Oxfordshire retail scheme in site exchange deal

22 September 2011

LXB Retail Properties has exchanged contracts to buy 12-acre site in the market town Banbury in Oxfordshire for £17.5m

British Land ramps up retail activity

22 September 2011

British Land is ramping up its retail investment and development activity with a development starting on a major shopping centre and a finance deal.

BCSC: Phil "the Power" Taylor launches Marks & Spencer Stoke anchor plans

21 September 2011

Marks & Spencer has agreed heads of terms to open a 100,000 sq ft anchor store in Realis Estates’ City Sentral scheme in Stoke.

BCSC: Store Twenty One chief - the North is better for us

20 September 2011

Anupam Jhunjhunwala, chief executive of fashion chain Store Twenty One, spoke to Property Week at the BCSC conference today about his expansion plans, where the chain plans to open, and what he thinks of the state of the UK economy.

BCSC: Quintain secures new Wembley lettings

20 September 2011

Quintain has announced two further restaurant lettings at its London Designer Outlet in Wembley.

Debenhams to move headquarters to British Land's NEQ

20 September 2011

Debenhams is to move its headquarters to north west London in the summer of 2013 to move into British Land’s mixed use development at Regent’s Place.

PWTV: Retail special at Movers & Shakers

19 September 2011

In advance of the British Council of Shopping Centres conference starting today, Movers & Shakers Property Networking Club held a retail breakfast at the Dorchester hotel in London.

John Lewis at Home twins with Waitrose in Ipswich

16 September 2011

Retailers to take first-ever combined store at AquiGen’s former Crane foundry site

Retail and leisure play for Plymouth Argyle

16 September 2011

Irish consortium’s bid for club includes mixed-use development

A little compromise will make 2012 less bleak

16 September 2011

As the busiest time of the retail calendar approaches, the industry is starting to look past Christmas and into the year ahead

Balloons and bad French

16 September 2011

The queuing mentality gripped shoppers by 8 am at Westfield Stratford City, writes Christine Eade, occupiers correspondent

Cineworld's Steve Wiener: Welcome to my world

16 September 2011

Steve Wiener, founder of Cineworld, the UK’s largest cinema chain, reveals the secrets of his “star” system. Christine Eade reports

Eurovision

16 September 2011

The London-based boss of Value Retail travels extensively and aims to apply his European know-how to his leadership of the region’s Urban Land Institute

Fiat drives new format to Solihull Fiat drives new format to Solihull

16 September 2011

Car maker Fiat is to launch a concept shop, Fiat Click, at Touchwood shopping centre in Solihull that will enable shoppers to buy cars in store

Foreign Legions

16 September 2011

The harsh economic climate is not preventing international retailers from opening stores in the UK

Hammerson's Sarah Fox turns the tables

16 September 2011

Hammerson’s catering controller has a career’s worth of restaurant experience behind her, which is good news for her tenants

Knowledge is power and high streets must take it back

16 September 2011

August, as far as I’m concerned, was created with one purpose in mind: to sit on a beach and read voraciously

Pieces in place

16 September 2011

The British retail advisory sector was reshaped this year in the aftermath of two high-profile takeovers

Selfridges family buys next door

16 September 2011

The Weston family, which owns department store Selfridges on London’s Oxford Street, has bought the French Connection block next door for more than £80m

Westfield Stratford City: A Full plate

16 September 2011

Westfield Stratford City has two food courts, so shoppers can customise their dining experience.

Weston-super-Mare extreme sports centre approved

16 September 2011

£50m LeisureDome facility at former RAF station will feature ski slope and world’s tallest climbing wall

Two more retailers sign as The Pipeworks retail and leisure scheme completes

15 September 2011

Joint developers Rokeby Developments and Peveril Securities have completed construction of their The Pipeworks in Swadlincote and secured two more lettings.

RESI 2011: Property Week launches pro-development campaign

15 September 2011

Property Week today launches a “Campaign for Sustainable Development”, calling for readers’ support for development that will help revive the UK.

Metric buys £15m King's Lynn retail park

15 September 2011

Metric Property Investments has bought Pierpoint Retail Park in King’s Lynn from Black Pearl Investments for £15.1m.

Town Centre Securities reports 7% NAV rise

13 September 2011

Leeds-based REIT Town Centre Securities today reported a 7% rise in net asset value and a 4% increase in occupancy levels across its portfolio.

Selfridges family buy £80m French Connection Oxford Street block

12 September 2011

The family behind the department store Selfridges is understood to have acquired the French Connection block on Oxford Street for more than £80m.

Great Portland secures major West End development site

12 September 2011

Great Portland Estates has bought a 2.3 acre development site at the east end of London’s Oxford Street from Royal Mail Group, as revealed by Property Week in July.

HMV nears completion of new store rollout as sales plummet

9 September 2011

HMV Group has announced it will complete the rollout its new ‘Fast Forward’ technology store concept across its entire portfolio in October, following the announcement that its like-for-like salesplummeted by 15.1% in the 18 weeks to 3 September.

Prepack reforms knocked back by critics

9 September 2011

Three-day warning rule delayed as companies and creditors criticise changes

CBRE snaps up retail agency Michael Peddar & Co

8 September 2011

CB Richard Ellis has bought niche retail firm Michael Peddar & Co to boost its presence in the luxury market.

Supermarket chain plans expansion with £93m funding deal

8 September 2011

Family-owned supermarket group EH Booth & Co has agreed a £93m funding deal to help drive its expansion, TheBusinessDesk.com revealed today.

Morrisons to open 500,000 sq ft of stores this year

8 September 2011

Morrisons today said it was on track to open 500,000 sq ft of new stores by the end of 2011.

Shop vacancy rates stabilise at 14.5% but north-south divide remains

8 September 2011

Shop vacancy rates have stabilised at 14.5% during the first half of this year but the gap between the best and worst performing towns has widened, the latest research by The Local Data Company has found.

Green light for Tesco in Harrogate

7 September 2011

Tesco was last night granted planning consent for a 45,000 sq ft store in Harrogate, north Yorkshire.

Sainsbury's and Asda near go-ahead in north-east

7 September 2011

Aim-listed investor and developer Terrace Hill Group has gained consent for two of planning applications for supermarket developments in the north-east.

Sainsbury's poaches Dixon's property director

6 September 2011

Sainsbury’s has poached Dixon’s group property director Philip Bell-Brown to become its new director of property development.

Clinton Cards requests rent payment split

5 September 2011

Clinton Cards has written to landlords asking to split payment of its next quarter rent to help it to continue trading over its most lucrative Christmas period.

Emerging markets prop up prime retail as Europe slips

2 September 2011

Cushman report says global rents grow by just less than 5%, led by Asia-Pacific and Latin America

Multi books October Hague passage

2 September 2011

Multi Development will start construction of the €80m New Hague Passage in the Netherlands in mid-October

Newbury Parkway prepares to pull up shutters

2 September 2011

The scaffolding is beginning to come down, revealing the facade of Shearer Property Group and Standard Life Investments’ £120m Parkway retail development in Newbury town centre ahead of its opening month

Regional shopping centres scare off nervous investors

2 September 2011

Addington Capital pulls out of Birkenhead malls purchase, as Belfast’s CastleCourt bidders baulk at price

Retailers begin restoration of riot-damaged property

2 September 2011

Shop owners are reopening looted units across the country

Hines moves on Cheapside talks and plans Apple debut

1 September 2011

Hines is in advanced talks to buy the 100 Cheapside development site in the City of London and is negotiating with Apple to open the retailer’s first City of London store there.

INTERACTIVE: Emerging markets  prop up  prime retail, Cushman says

1 September 2011

Aggressive retailer expansion into emerging markets contributed to global prime retail rents rising for the first time since the start of the recession, figures from Cushman & Wakefield show.

Tesco to sell Japanese business

31 August 2011

Tesco has announced it plans to sell its business in Japan.

Developer appointed to Hereford city centre retail project

25 August 2011

A njoint venture including Wrenbridge Land is to redevelop the Buttermarket in Hereford, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Sellar completes Pompey Centre refinancing

25 August 2011

Irvine Sellar has completed a £40.3m refinancing of his 300,000 sq ft Pompey Centre next to the home of Portsmouth FC’s home Fratton Park.

99p Stores to double its store portfolio and enter Ireland

25 August 2011

99p Stores Group has announced that it aims to open a further 150 stores in the next four years and will expand into Ireland.

Riot-hit retailers lost more than 7,500 trading hours

24 August 2011

A survey of retailers hit by the riots two weeks ago found they lost more than 7,500 hours of trading.

Cap & Reg “exploring strategic options” for £1.1bn Mall shopping centre fund

23 August 2011

Capital & Regional is exploring strategic options for its Mall shopping centre fund and intends to sell its investment in the X-Leisure fund.

Grosvenor Liverpool Fund extends Liverpool portfolio

22 August 2011

The Grosvenor Liverpool Fund has purchased 52-78 Lord Street in the centre of Liverpool from Land Securities for £19.1m and an initial yield of around 6.4%.

JD Sports plans French expansion

22 August 2011

JD Sports is looking to aggressively expand in France taking on more than 100 new stores.

Landlords present Mary Portas with high street tenancies research

22 August 2011

Landlords have presented Mary Portas with the largest ever independent study of retail tenancies to help the government’s high street guru understand the relationship between landlords and occupiers, and lease trends.

NewRiver announces flurry of deals

22 August 2011

NewRiver Retail today announced a flurry of deals across the country including purchases, a sale and an appointment as development manager.

Liam Gallagher’s Pretty Green signs up in Glasgow

18 August 2011

Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher’s Pretty Green retail chain has signed a five year lease on a shop in Glasgow.

"Selective" sale-and-lease back to drive Lookers expansion strategy

17 August 2011

Car dealership network Lookers will look at “selective” sale-and-leasebacks in order to fund the expansion of its business, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Atrium cautious on Europe as it reports NAV growth

16 August 2011

Atrium European Real Estate today gave a cautious view of the European markets despite reporting a net asset value per share uplift of 2.7% in the first half of the year.

Pets at Home fills up Birmingham retail park

15 August 2011

National pet store chain Pets at Homes is opening a new shop in Birmingham bringing an out-of-town retail park to capacity, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

MGPA's €220m Danish retail deal

15 August 2011

Private equity fund manager MGPA has bought a €220m Danish department store property in a joint venture with two other investors.

Mike Ashley sells 32 stores to Sports Direct for £87m

12 August 2011

Sports Direct Group has bought 32 stores from its executive deputy chairman and owner of Newcastle Football Club for £86.8m.

Furniture retailer Lombok mulls administration and looks to online and concessions

11 August 2011

Furniture and home accessories chain Lombok has filed an intention to go into administration.

Mary Portas defends her high street review to commercial property

11 August 2011

The government’s retail guru Mary Portas has insisted her review of the high streets will “include planning and issues around property” and will not “pick on” landlords.

C&W poaches Knight Frank partner for central London retail team

11 August 2011

Cushman & Wakefield has poached Knight Frank’s Calum Ewing to become a partner in its central London retail team. 

Rochdale council mulls Wheatsheaf buy

11 August 2011

Rochdale Council is pursuing its attempt to buy the town’s Wheatsheaf shopping centre from administrators, TheBusinessDesk.com reported yesterday.

Lewis's Home Retail buys two more TJ Hughes stores

10 August 2011

Lewis’s Home Retail has bought two more TJ Hughes stores from administrators.

Manchester's retailers count the cost of disorder

10 August 2011

Manchester is counting the cost of a night of disorder which saw shops looted in the city centre and random acts of vandalism across the region, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Atrium to develop Auchan hypermarket at Lublin scheme

10 August 2011

Atrium European Real Estate has agreed to develop a 215,000 sq ft hypermarket for French retailer Auchan at its Felicity retail development at Lublin, Poland. 

Greggs on track to open 80 stores this year

9 August 2011

Greggs bakery has announced that it is on track to open 80 new stores this year as it revealed it had increased like-for-like sales by 0.4% in the 26 weeks to 2 July.

Shopping centre development drops to 1990s levels

8 August 2011

The rate of shopping centre construction activity has fallen to similar levels seen during the early 1990s recession, limiting opportunities for retailers to expand, according to the latest research by CB Richard Ellis.

Aviva tees up giant West End scheme

8 August 2011

Aviva is close to piecing together a development site in London’s West End that could bring to the market about 600,000 sq ft of mixed-use space.

Shop owners condemn Tottenham riots

8 August 2011

The British Retail Consortium has today condemned the weekend’s London rioting, claiming that community difficulties would not be helped by torching shops.

Axa Real Estate sells Grosvenor Shopping Centre

5 August 2011

AXA Real Estate has sold the Grosvenor Shopping Centre in Macclesfield, on behalf of its client Friends Life Company to Eskmuir Securities for £20.86m.

Hammerson rewrites retail agency script

5 August 2011

Shake-up of advisers and fee structures across much of £2.4bn UK shopping centre portfolio

Ernst & Young announces closure of 22 TJ Hughes stores

4 August 2011

Ernst & Young today announced the closure of 22 TJ Hughes stores after failing to find a buyer for the remaining parts of the business.

Poundland to expand into Ireland

2 August 2011

Poundland, Europe’s biggest single price discount retailer, will expand into Europe by opening six stores in Ireland by the end of the financial year in March 2012.

Four TJ Hughes stores sold to Lewis's Home Retail

1 August 2011

Four of the TJ Hughes discount department stores have been sold out of administration to Lewis’s Home Retail.

Euro Garages secures £110m funding for acquisitions

1 August 2011

Euro Garages, the privately owned forecourt retail group chaired by former ASDA chief executive Andy Bond, has announced a £110m funding agreement to step up its site acquisition programme.  

Westfield confirms $612.5m World Trade Center Mall JV

29 July 2011

Westfield has agreed to invest $612.5m in a joint venture to develop the retail part of the World Trade Center.

Addington moves for Merseyside malls

29 July 2011

Asset manager is frontrunner to buy Agora Max’s Grange and Pyramids for £80m

Debenhams’ harvest festival at Darlington’s Cornmill

29 July 2011

Debenhams will open a 62,000 sq ft department store at the proposed extension of Cornmill Shopping Centre in Darlington.

Tesco to revamp Dartford street

29 July 2011

Tesco’s development arm Spenhill has submitted plans to regenerate a 7.2 acre high street site in Dartford.

London & Stamford picked as preferred bidder for £140m Redditch mall

26 July 2011

London & Stamford has been selected as the preferred bidder for Scottish Widows Investment Partnership’s Kingfisher Mall in Redditch.

Pendragon property vehicle in £100m sale-and-leaseback deals

25 July 2011

Car dealership Pendragon’s property holding joint venture, PPH1, has sold five packages of car showrooms to a variety of investors for over £100m.

Dixons to open Harrods concession

25 July 2011

Harrods has struck a deal with Dixons Retail which will see the specialist electrical retailer operate the consumer electronics section of Harrods’ flagship store in London. 

€500m Pradera fund launch as Turkish retail delights

22 July 2011

Retail fund manager teams up with local property company Krea to buy centres to asset manage

Borders to close bookstores in US

22 July 2011

Borders is set to be liquidated in the US.

First half of 2011 brings multiple wounds for high street

22 July 2011

Local Data Company’s 2011 first-half review

John Lewis’ small idea

22 July 2011

Retailer to launch first smaller department store concept in Exeter

Q+A: British Land’s south-west spree

22 July 2011

British Land bought Plymouth’s 570,000 sq ft Drake Circus shopping centre in January for £240m. One month later, it followed this up with the purchase of Green Lanes, a 131,000 sq ft shopping centre in Barnstaple, for £30m. Charles Maudsley, head of retail at British Land talks about the company’s interest in the south-west.

Spain’s Coolway steps into central London

22 July 2011

Spanish shoe retailer Coolway is planning to launch in the UK and has bought a flagship store on London’s Oxford Street.

Helical Bar poised to buy Land Securities' Corby scheme

21 July 2011

Helical Bar is poised to enter into exclusive talks to buy Land Securities’ Corby town centre scheme for just over £70m.

£85m Solihull scheme gets consent after decade of planning wrangling

21 July 2011

An £85m retail-led development in Solihull has finally been given the go-ahead after more than a decade of planning wrangling, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Co-op Bank loan to kick off £50m Coventry scheme

20 July 2011

Co-operative Bank has agreed to finance Barberry Developments’ £50m plans for the former Royal Mail Sorting Centre at Bishop Gate in Coventry.

Green light for Sainsburys’ Fulham Wharf plans

20 July 2011

Plans for the £100m Fulham Wharf development have been given the green-light.

Co-Operative bids for Lloyds branches

19 July 2011

The Co-operative has submitted a bid for the network of 632 bank branches being sold by Lloyds Banking Group, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Pod targets 20 stores by the end of the year

18 July 2011

Healthy fast food chain Pod has revealed it plans to accelerate its expansion this year, and has opened three new stores in central London.

Fashion use proposed for Olympic media complex

15 July 2011

A consortium of fashion brands backed by Resolution Property has joined the list of parties lobbying to take over the 1m sq ft Olympic media and broadcast centres in east London after the 2012 Games finish.

DTZ Research: UK Retail Market - Q2 2011

14 July 2011

Oxford Economics expect Q2 GDP growth to be weaker than the 0.5% recorded in Q1. The weak labour market outlook is forecast to result in a fall in consumer spending of 0.3% this year, followed by only a modest recovery of 1.1% in 2012 according to Oxford Economics.

Two new tenants move into Tony Blair’s neighbourhood

14 July 2011

Two tenants are to move into the Church Commissioners’ Connaught Village, near the London home of Tony and Cherie Blair at Connaught Square.

Henderson to progress with Winchester development

13 July 2011

Henderson Global Investors is ready to progress with development plans in Winchester for the city’s 630,000 sq ft Silver Hill scheme, following expiry of a post-acquisition conditional period, which ended last Friday.

Thorntons considers £3.5m provision for underperforming stores

13 July 2011

Chocolate retailer Thorntons has revealed it is considering putting aside around £3.5m for the year to 25 June 2011 to cover potential losses from under-performing stores identified for closure.

SuperGroup's UK roll out "firmly on track" as profits rocket

13 July 2011

SuperGroup’s UK store roll-out is “firmly on track” with the retailer announcing it has added 21 stores to its portfolio and increased profits before tax by 110% in the last year.

Four shortlisted for Maltings redevelopment

11 July 2011

Henderson Global Investors, Stanhope, Land Securities’ and Sainsbury’s Harvest Partnership and Tesco have been shortlisted for the redevelopment of the Maltings retail scheme in Salisbury.

Liverpool-based B&M bags Focus DIY stores

8 July 2011

Liverpool-based discount retailer B&M has bagged the 11 sites it wanted from Focus DIY’s administrators Ernst & Young for just £1.2m, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Calculating landlords’ losses when retailers bail out

8 July 2011

The recent spate of administrations in the UK high street could wipe out up to £393m of rent payments to UK landlords over the course of their leases

Hammerson gets consent for £600m Eastgate Quarters retail scheme

7 July 2011

Hammerson has today received planning consent for its revised £600m Eastgate Quarters retail scheme in Leeds.

LXB buys Staffordshire sites for £70m scheme

7 July 2011

AIM-listed investor LXB Retail Properties has acquired two town centre plots in Staffordshire for a £70m retail project and is in talks to acquire a third, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Metric exchanges on Staffordshire development site

7 July 2011

Metric Property Investments is planning to invest £5.8m in developing a retail warehouse scheme in Cannock, Staffordshire.

USS confirms £31m Perth shopping centre purchase

6 July 2011

The Universities Superannuation Scheme has confirmed its purchase of the St John’s Centre in Perth for £31.25m, as tipped by Property Week.

Hammerson and Sheffield City Council reach agreement on 860,000 sq ft Sevenstone scheme

5 July 2011

Hammerson and Sheffield City Council have reached an agreement to develop the 860,000 sq ft Sevenstone retail scheme, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

Retailers take space at Manchester Fort

5 July 2011

Marks & Spencer, ShoeZone and Clintons have signed to open new stores at Henderson Global Investors’ Manchester Fort.

MGPA acquires German retail portfolio

4 July 2011

MGPA has acquired a portfolio of 26 retail properties from Develica Deutschland.

Forever 21 to open at Lakeside

4 July 2011

US fashion giant Forever 21 has announced it will open a new flagship store at Capital Shopping Centres’ Lakeside as part of a major asset management initiative.

CSL pushes into South East as it opens Brent Cross store

4 July 2011

Northern-based sofa retailer CSL has defied the retail gloom and plans to expand into the South East after reporting like for like sales growth of 6% in the nine weeks to 26 June.

Cushman & Wakefield wins Morrisons mandate

30 June 2011

Supermarket chain Morrisons has appointed Cushman & Wakefield as asset manager for 750,000 sq ft of retail property.

F&C REIT under offer on £108m of malls

30 June 2011

F&C Reit has gone under offer to buy The Mall Middlesbrough and The Mall Barnsley for around £108m.

Petchey consortium withdraws offer for Lookers

30 June 2011

The consortium which had approached Manchester-based car dealership business Lookers about a potential offer has withdrawn it approach after failing to reach terms over a deal, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.

TJ Hughes collapses into administration

30 June 2011

Discount department store retailer TJ Hughes has this morning collapsed into administration.

Blackburn’s Tithebarn appeal quashed

29 June 2011

Manchester’s high court has upheld the decision of communities secretary Eric Pickles to allow Lend Lease’s £700m Tithebarn development to go ahead, quashing opposition from neighbouring councils that argued it would be draw business from local town centres.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill buys 33 Jane Norman stores in pre-pack agreement

28 June 2011

Edinburgh Woollen Mill has agreed to take on 33 Jane Norman stores in a pre-pack administration sale, but 33 shops will be closed and the future of another 28 is undecided.

Carpetright to continue store closures as pretax profits dive by 70.4%

28 June 2011

Carpetright, Britain’s leading floor coverings retailer, has announced it will continue to downsize its store portfolio after its pretax profits plummeted by 70.4% to £6.6m in the year to 30 April.

Terrace Hill buys 7.1 acre foodstore site

28 June 2011

Terrace Hill Group has exchanged contracts to buy a 7.1 acre development site in Sedgefield, County Durham, where it hopes to build a 50,000 sq ft foodstore.

Westfield launches consultations on White City development plans

27 June 2011

Westfield has today announced it will kick start consultations next month on a major mixed-use redevelopment linked to its Westfield London shopping centre. 

Whole Foods to open at Crown's Quadrant development

27 June 2011

Organic food retailer Whole Foods is in talks to open a 10,000 sq ft store at The Crown Estate’s Quadrant development just off Regent Street.

NewRiver in portfolio buy and equity raise

27 June 2011

NewRiver Retail is in advanced talks to buy a portfolio of four shopping centres from Zurich Assurance for £68m, reflecting a yield of around 8%.

LandSecs Brand Empire head quits

24 June 2011

The head of Land Securities’ initiative to roll out new retail brands has left the company after a split over strategy.

The Crown to buy £71m Maidstone retail park.

24 June 2011

The Crown Estate is in talks to buy The Junction Fund’s South Aylesford retail park in Maidstone for around £71m, reflecting a yield of around 5.75%.

Nama puts pressure on £200m Bond Street store owner

23 June 2011

One of Ireland’s largest developers has been given a deadline of tonight to repay loans secured against his personal assets, including Louis Vuitton’s flagship £200m store, propertyweek.com can reveal.

Comet's slide into the red forces Kesa to ready the for-sale sign

23 June 2011

Kesa Electricals has admitted for the first time that it is considering selling off its Comet chain after the British company sank to a loss of nearly £9m last year, The Independent reported today.

Mary Portas kicks off her high street review

22 June 2011

TV retail guru Mary Portas has kicked off her review of the high street with a tour of town centres in Rugby and Sparkbrook.

Savills: Dublin Retail Market in Minutes

21 June 2011

Dublin’s prime retail streets are maintaining their high occupancy levels, despite the continued tough economic conditions across allsectors.

Invista confirms £31.2m Wellgate buy

21 June 2011

Invista Real Estate Investment Management has confirmed its acquisition of the Wellgate Shopping Centre in Dundee for £31.2m, as tipped by Property Week (8/4/11).

McCabe sets up Chinese retail company

20 June 2011

Kevin McCabe’s Scarborough Group has set up a company in China designed as a ‘one stop shop’ for UK and European retailers looking to enter the country.

Quintain secures restaurant lettings for London Designer Outlet

20 June 2011

Quintain has revealed a raft of restaurant signings for the London Designer Outlet at its Wembley City scheme.

JD Sports buys eight Cecil Gee stores

20 June 2011

JD Sports Fashion has acquired eight Cecil Gee stores from Moss Bros for £1.7m.

Abercrombie & Fitch get back to Savile Row

17 June 2011

Fashion retailer eyes former Beatles’ headquarters for kids range

Neil Varnham appointed chairman of Brazilian property company

16 June 2011

British Council of Shopping Centres former president Neil Varnham has been appointed chairman of Brazilian property company Squarestone Brasil.

John Lewis plans to open At Home store in Ashford

15 June 2011

John Lewis today announced plans to open a John Lewis At Home store in Ashford in autumn 2012.

SWIP swoops on Boots block

14 June 2011

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has placed a prime block on Oxford Street under offer at a yield of around 5%.

Westfield strikes with All Star Lanes

13 June 2011

Westfield Stratford City has signed All Star Lanes to open a 14 lane bowling alley, restaurant and cocktail bar at the new £1.45bn retail, office and leisure development which opens on 13th September this year.

Jack Wills opens at Caxtongate in Birmingham

10 June 2011

Jack Wills has opened its first store in the West Midlands at phase one of the Caxtongate retail scheme in Birmingham.

Comet to exit 22 stores

10 June 2011

Electrical retailer Comet is circulating a list of 22 stores that it is wishing to exit.

MGPA acquires 50% stake in Chinese shopping centre

10 June 2011

MGPA has bought a 50% stake in the 577,150 sq ft Galleria Chengdu.

Henry Boot third developer for Watford Charter Place

8 June 2011

Henry Boot Developments has been selected as the third development partner for Watford Borough Council’s Charter Place development.

New Covent Garden loses Barratt from £1bn redevelopment race

8 June 2011

Barratt Group has bowed out of the competition to redevelop the New Covent Garden Market site in Nine Elms, leaving two French firms in the running for the £1bn deal.

Europa buys out €100m former Quinlan mall

7 June 2011

Private equity fund manager Europa Capital has bought the Mall of Sofia shopping centre in Sofia, Bulgaria, from GE Real Estate and Avestus Capital Partners, formerly Quinlan Private.

Abercrombie & Fitch's rent triples after review

6 June 2011

American fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has renegotiated its lease at 42 Savile Row, in London’s West End, which is thought to have resulted in its rent tripling.

Colliers poaches Knight Frank's Laurence Edwards to boost retail team

6 June 2011

Colliers International has appointed Laurence Edwards as a new director in its retail out of town, specialising in retail development and agency.

Cath Kidston to open first store in Wales

6 June 2011

Cath Kidston will open its first standalone shop in Wales with a store at St David’s, the joint venture between Capital Shopping Centres and Land Securities.

Deutsche Pfandbriefbank funds F&C Reit and Area retail purchases

3 June 2011

Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has provided £34.45m of acquisition finance to F&C Reit Asset Management and AREA Property Partners.

DTZ Investment Market Update: UK Shopping Centres - Q1 2011

2 June 2011

In terms of market activity in Q1 2011, there were 17 completed shopping centre transactions (with a further six assets currently under offer), representing a total of £2.6bn by value.

Bhs takes space at PPG’s Middleton Grange

2 June 2011

Bhs has taken a 35,000 sq ft unit at Premier Property Group’s Middleton Grange Shopping Centre in Hartlepool.

BHS signs for former Woolies anchor in Hartlepool centre

1 June 2011

Premier Property Group (PPG) has signed BHS as an anchor tenant at its 580,000 sq ft Middleton Grange Shopping Centre in Hartlepool.

Krispy Kreme to more than double its stores

1 June 2011

Krispy Kreme is looking to more than double its UK presence in the next five years to 100 shops.

Schroders and Chester buy Clyde Retail Park for £19.1m

27 May 2011

Schroders’ Columbus UK Real Estate Fund and Chester Properties have bought Clyde Retail Park in Glasgow from the UBS Triton Fund for £19.1m.

Abercrombie Kids in Mayfair

27 May 2011

Abercrombie & Fitch is seeking a shop for its Abercrombie Kids brand in London’s West End. The US fashion retailer is understood to require a store of up to 10,000 sq ft and could be considering Savile Row. Its flagship store is at 42 Savile Row.The retailer has so far struggled to find a suitable unit because of high rents. Capita Symonds advises Abercrombie & Fitch, but declined to comment.

Rockspring buys in Leeds and Shrewsbury

26 May 2011

Rockspring Property Investment Managers has spent £17.8m buying properties in Leeds and Shrewsbury.

LXB Retail plans to raise £100m

26 May 2011

LXB Retail Properties is planning to raise £100m to invest in development and asset management opportunities through a share placement.

Axa buys €55m Spanish petrol stations portfolio

26 May 2011

Axa Real Estate Investment Managers has bought a €55m portfolio of Spanish petrol stations in a sale and leaseback deal with one of the country’s largest supermarket operators.

Multi spin off selected as prefered bidder for Newport Friars Walk

25 May 2011

Queensberry Real Estate, the spin off from the UK arm of Multi Development, has been selected as the preferred bidder for the Newport Friars Walk shopping centre.

Administrators move to close down Focus DIY

25 May 2011

Many of the remaining 123 Focus DIY stores face closure after the retailer’s administrators today announced it would be closing down the chain.

NAV drop for Terrace Hill

25 May 2011

Aim-listed property company Terrace Hill today posted a net asset value drop of 11% in the six months to 31 March 2011.

USS to buy St John's mall in Perth for £32m

24 May 2011

The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) is poised to buy St John’s shopping centre in Perth for around £32m.

US retailer Kellwood to bring VINCE. and BLK DNM to UK

24 May 2011

US brand designer and manufacturer Kellwood has announced it will launch its fashion brands VINCE. and BLK DNM in the UK this autumn.

Colliers promotes Chris Humphrey to director of retail in Scotland

23 May 2011

Colliers International Scotland has promoted Chris Humphrey to director of retail to boost the Scottish team in the wake of a number of high-profile client instructions.

Forth Ports considers Ocean Terminal sale

20 May 2011

Arcus European Infrastructure Fund, the new owner of Forth Ports, is considering a sale of the Ocean Terminal shopping centre near Edinburgh.

Hippodrome to gamble on Vegas-style casino

20 May 2011

Leisure entrepreneur Simon Thomas is preparing to open London’s first Las Vegas-style casino this year, in the Hippodrome building in Leicester Square

Mr Zara buys £220m Oxford Street block

20 May 2011

Founder of Spanish retailer Zara Amancio Ortega buys 1 acre site in West End

Sainsbury’s plans Longbridge store

19 May 2011

Sainsbury’s will build an 85,000 sq ft store as part of St Modwen’s £1bn regeneration of Longbridge.

Drivers Jonas Deloitte recruits for retail investment team

19 May 2011

Drivers Jonas Deloitte has appointed Jonathan Wynne as a director of retail investment.

Birmingham John Lewis plans submitted

19 May 2011

Plans for a new John Lewis department store at Birmingham New Street station have been submitted this week.

Primark signs for 70,000 sq ft Thanet store

18 May 2011

Land Securities has secured Primark to occupy a new 70,000 sq ft anchor store at its Westwood Cross shopping and leisure centre in Thanet, East Kent.

Orion Capital Managers takes 50% stake in Puerto Venecia in Spain

18 May 2011

A fund managed by Orion Capital Managers has completed its acquisition of a 50% stake in the 2.2m sq ft Puerto Venecia retail and leisure scheme in Zaragoza, Spain.

Capital & Regional completes lettings 2.6% above ERV

18 May 2011

Capital & Regional has seen positive lettings momentum in its first quarter after completing 18 letting at 2.6% above estimated rental values.

Online plus-sized retailer Simply Be looks for three stores

17 May 2011

Online plus-sized clothing retailer Simply Be is looking to make a move to the high street and acquire its first stores in the UK.

Mary Portas enlisted to save high streets

17 May 2011

TV retail guru Mary Portas is to lead an independent review into the future of the UK high street.

Trafford Centre the star at CSC

17 May 2011

Capital Shopping Centres said this morning that the Trafford Centre had been the star performer in its portfolio over the last four months – but said the retail sector still faces challenges.

DTZ Investment Market Update: UK Retail Warehouse - Q1 2011

16 May 2011

It has been a slow start to the year, with a shortage of stock in the retail warehouse investment market, particularly in the £50m+ bracket. Stock totalling circa £815m was openly available on the market during Q1, compared with £1.1bn in Q4 2010 and £1.7bn in Q3 2010.

Whole Foods to open Fulham Broadway store

16 May 2011

Upmarket grocery store Whole Foods has pre-leased a 22,000 sq ft on Fulham Broadway in London.

CapCo extends Covent Garden holdings

13 May 2011

Capital & Counties is in talks to extend its Covent Garden portfolio with the purchase of two blocks from Derwent London.

BCSC: Shopping Centre Asset Pricing Guide

12 May 2011

The shopping centre sector is going through a period of significant change. Lease lengths are shortening, retailer turnover information is increasingly the basis on which some element of rent is calculated, consumer shopping habits are evolving with advances in the capability andcoverage of the internet and social media are leading to a democratisation of information, transforming people from consumers of information into information generators.

Forever 21 signs for first German flagship

12 May 2011

Forever 21 has signed for its first German flagship store as a part of its aggressive European expansion plans.

LXB plans £40m shopping park following Northamptonshire site purchase

12 May 2011

LXB Retail Properties is planning to develop a £40m shopping park after buying a 244-acre site in Rushden, Northamptonshire.

The Meadows shopping centre to be marketed for £60m

11 May 2011

The Meadows shopping centre in Chelmsford is set to come to the market for around £60m, reflecting a yield of around 7%.

Retail firm Coady Supple launched after Supple quits Franc Warwick

11 May 2011

Dermot Supple has quit as a shopping centre investment surveyor at Franc Warwick to set up a practice with Robin Coady.

Retailers line up to take space at Leeds’ Victoria Quarter

9 May 2011

Hosiery and lingerie retailer Wolford, cosmetic retailer Kiehl’s, L’Occitane and Kuoni have signed to take space at the Victoria Quarter in Leeds.

B&Q buys 31 Focus DIY stores

6 May 2011

Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q, has bought 31 Focus DIY stores out of administration for £23m.

Forever 21 confirms major Liverpool store

6 May 2011

Forever 21 has confirmed that it has signed a prelet with Royal London Asset Management for its scheme in Liverpool, as tipped by Property Week, and a planning application has now been submitted to construct the flagship store.

Atrium European Real Estate completes €171m Warsaw deal

6 May 2011

Atrium European Real Estate has completed the purchase of the Promenada shopping centre in Warsaw, Poland, for €171m.

British Land poaches Centros chief executive

6 May 2011

Centros chief executive Richard Wise is leaving the company to join British Land.

Westfield enters fashion Stratosphere

06 May 2011

Global fashion retailers are lining up to take space at Westfield Stratford City as the £1.45bn project prepares for its 13 September opening

Criterion Capital to market Sutton mall for £90m

5 May 2011

Asif Aziz’s Criterion Capital is preparing to bring the St Nicholas Shopping Centre in Sutton, Surrey, to the market seeking offers in excess of £90m.

Capital & Counties completes £100.6m cash raising

5 May 2011

Capital & Counties has completed the fully underwritten placing it announced today – raising £100.6m for investment in its Covent Garden estate.

The Range owner expresses interest in Focus DIY

5 May 2011

Chris Dawson, the owner of home, leisure and garden retailer The Range, has revealed his interest in buying the stock and stores of troubled retailer Focus DIY, which appointed administrators today.

Focus DIY to appoint administrators

4 May 2011

Focus DIY has filed an intention to appoint administrators following a credit default.

Tesco’s Spenhill starts London Higham’s Park scheme

3 May 2011

Spenhill, the wholly owned regeneration subsidiary of Tesco, has started construction of the first phase of a £105m mixed-use development in Higham’s Park, London.  

Whittall's Wine Merchants buys 37 Oddbins stores

27 April 2011

Whittall’s Wine Merchants has bought 37 Oddbins stores out of administration.

Land Securities secures planning for 100,000 sq ft Meteor Centre food store

26 April 2011

Land Securities’ has received planning consent for a 100,000 sq ft food store at its Meteor Centre in Derby from Derby City Council.

Primark signs for anchor store at Trinity Leeds

21 April 2011

Primark has signed for a 90,000 sq ft unit at Land Securities’ Trinity Leeds shopping centre.

Redevco buys Bournemouth parade

20 April 2011

Redevco has bought a parade of Bournemouth shops for £31m.

Baldry appointed chairman of London & Continental Railways

19 April 2011

London & Continental Railways has appointed a new chairman to replace David Cooksey and promoted a senior member of staff to chief executive.

Poundstretcher takes space in Thornaby's Pavilion

19 April 2011

Poundstretcher has leased two shops at LaSalle Investment Management’s Pavilion Shopping Centre in Thornaby, North Yorkshire.

Orchard Street buys Market Walk shopping centre for £22.25m

18 April 2011

Orchard Street Investment Management has acquired Market Walk Shopping Centre in Chorley, Lancashire, for its UK Special Situations Fund for £22.25m.

Rockspring spends €62.2m in west Germany

18 April 2011

Rockspring Property Investment Managers has bought three retail warehouses in west Germany for €62.2m.

Cap & Reg sees continued fund growth

18 April 2011

Co-investing fund manager Capital & Regional saw continued growth in the value of its funds in the first quarter of this year.

Waterloo station retail balcony construction starts

15 April 2011

Construction has started to create a 20,000 sq ft retail balcony at Waterloo station.

Lunson Mitchenall/BCSC: Shopping Centre Development Pipeline 2011

14 April 2011

The last two years have seen a radical change in the opportunities for retailled development. The stark consequences of the UK banking crisis, combined with falling capital values and consumer demand has had a profound effect.

Five more retailers sign at Trinity Walk

14 April 2011

Five retailers have signed up to take space at Trinity Walk shopping centre in Wakefield ahead of its opening next month.

Orchard Street secures Poundland retail warehouse letting in Aberdeen

14 April 2011

Orchard Street Investment Management has let 15,400 sq ft of retail warehouse space to Poundland at the Centrepoint Retail Park in Aberdeen on behalf of a pension fund client.

DevSecs eyes £52m Notting Hill buy

14 April 2011

Development Securities is close to buying a retail and office block in for £52m Notting Hill in west London.

Ronson consortium frontrunner to buy Murco petrol stations

13 April 2011

Gerald Ronson is among a consortium of investors vying for control of petrol station operator Murco UK.

Prupim purchases £67m Tesco Superstore

12 April 2011

Prupim has completed the purchase of a 150,000 sq ft Tesco Superstore in Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff.

Tesco and British Land refinance Beaumont Leys shopping centre

12 April 2011

The Tesco British Land Property Partnership, a 50:50 joint venture between British Land and Tesco plc, has refinanced its Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre in Leicester.

Gap and Paperchase sign at LandSec’s Buchanan Street

8 April 2011

Land Securities has signed up Gap and Paperchase  Buchanan to take pre-lets at its new Buchanan Street shopping centre in Glasgow, which is set to be opened in March 2013.

Fashion designer Eileen Fisher to open two UK stores

7 April 2011

US designer Eileen Fisher is set to launch her brand in Europe with two UK stores.

M&S posts better than expected results and plans 2% retail space increase

6 April 2011

Marks & Spencer has posted better than expected results and plans to increase its retail space by around 2% in the UK in 2011/12.

Hammerson to kick start £125m Didcot retail scheme

5 April 2011

Hammerson has entered an agreement with South Oxfordshire district council to kick-start the £125m regeneration of Didcot town centre.

Schroder Property poaches from NewRiver Retail

5 April 2011

Schroder Property has poached a member of NewRiver Retail’s management team.

Standard Life Investments buys Wiltshire retail park

5 April 2011

Standard Life Investments has acquired Parkridge’s recently developed The Gateway shopping park in Trowbridge for £20.67m, reflecting a yield of 5.7%.

Cushman & Wakefield: Shopping Centre Development Report - April 2011

4 April 2011

UK shopping centre development activity remained subdued in 2010. Four new schemes and three extensions opened in the second half, adding more than 136,000sq.m of new space to the market.

New shopping centre stock lowest since 1994

4 April 2011

Shopping centre stock in the UK increased by 1.4% in 2010, the lowest annual provision increase since 1994, research by Cushman & Wakefield has revealed.

Rockspring buys €69m German shopping centre

1 April 2011

Investment manager Rockspring has bought German shopping centre Das Es! from SEB Asset Management for €69m.

Hammerson in talks to flip Three Spires

1 April 2011

Hammerson is in talks with LaSalle Investment Management to flip the Three Spires shopping centre in Lichfield but any deal is thought to be contingent on the future of troubled retailer TJ Hughes.

TJ Hughes in rent talks

01 April 2011

Discount chain negotiates with landlords over monthly payments

Oddbins to go into administration after CVA failure

31 March 2011

Oddbins is to go into administration after a proposed company voluntary arrangement was rejected by creditors today.

Scottish Widows and Cushman raise €100m for European retail fund

30 March 2011

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) and Cushman & Wakefield Investors have secured €100m of equity from three European institutional investors at the first close of their Urban Retail Fund.

Fat Face, Paperchase and Costa sign at Parkway in Newbury ahead of October opening

30 March 2011

Fat Face, Paperchase and Costa have signed to open stores at the Parkway shopping centre in Newbury which is set to open in October.

Hollister, River Island and Republic sign for Guildford's Friary shopping centre

29 March 2011

Hollister, River Island and Republic have signed to open stores at the Friary shopping centre in Guildford.

Retail occupiers drive tentative industrial recovery

29 March 2011

Retail occupiers are driving a tentative recovery in the large industrial market after total take-up in the final quarter of 2010 reached its highest quarterly volume in the regions since 2007.

Oddbins applies to go into administration ahead of CVA vote

28 March 2011

Wine retailer Oddbins has applied to go into administration to protect itself from its creditors ahead of a vote on its planned Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) this week.

Caffè Nero appoints London agents

25 March 2011

Italian coffee chain Caffè Nero has appointed Lunson Mitchenall to drive its central London acquisition programme.

Henleys closes fashion outlets

25 March 2011

Fashion brand Henleys this week shut its 18 stores and put its Henleys Retail subsidiary into administration, just a month after announcing plans to more than double its number of UK stores

Landlords back JJB Sports’ rescue

25 March 2011

Landlords have shown their support for struggling retailer JJB Sports by voting in favour of its second company voluntary arrangement (CVA), but remain nervous about the strength of the business.

Opus and Palmer in £50m supermarket plan for Castelford rugby stadium

24 March 2011

Opus Land and Palmer Capital have agreed plans to buy and redevelop West Yorkshire rugby league club Castleford Tigers’ stadium in a deal estimated to be worth £50m.

JJB CVA creates "unfortunate precedent" says Hermes Real Estate

24 March 2011

Hermes Real Estate has revealed it voted against the controversial JJB company voluntary arrangement which was successfully passed two days ago.

CSC unveils £240m Victoria Centre expansion plans

24 March 2011

Capital Shopping Centres has today unveiled plans for a £240m expansion of its Victoria Centre scheme in Nottingham.

Kandahar's Jackson Square shopping centre to be marketed for £58m

23 March 2011

Kandahar’s Jackson Square Shopping Centre in Bishops Stortford is being brought to the market with a quoting price of £58m.

Stanhope secures planning consent for £80m Hereford retail scheme

23 March 2011

Stanhope has today secured planning consent for its £80m Hereford Old Livestock shopping centre development.

AEW Europe and Tristan Capital Fund completes Sapphire portfolio purchase with Addington Capital

23 March 2011

The European Property Investors Special Opportunities Fund and Addington Capital have completed the purchase of the Sapphire Retail portfolio for £145m, as tipped by Property Week (15.12.10).

Hammerson acquires remaining 75% at Central Retail Park in Falkirk

23 March 2011

Hammerson has exchanged to buy the remaining 75% of Central Retail Park in Falkirk which it did not already own for £69m.

BUDGET 2011: CBRE retail expert on hopes and fears for retail

23 March 2011

Jonathan de Mello, director of retail consultancy at CB Richard Ellis, talks to Property Week ahead of the Budget announcement today about what the retail sector would benefit from in this year’s Budget.

Land Securities to start £70m Atlas retail scheme in Glasgow

22 March 2011

Land Securities will push ahead with its £70m Atlas retail development in Glasgow city centre after securing an anchor prelet and updated planning consent.

Former Tesco development director forms JV with DevSecs for retail opportunities

22 March 2011

Philip Coles, Tesco’s former development director, has formed a joint venture with Development Securities aimed at opportunities in the UK retail sector.

JLL poaches Cushmans' shopping centre leasing partner

22 March 2011

Steve Morgan, a partner in Cushman & Wakefield’s shopping centre leasing team, will join Jones Lang LaSalle.

British Land and SWIP perform retail park swap

21 March 2011

British Land and Scottish Widows Investment Partnership have performed a retail park property swap.

Oddbins seeks CVA to slash rent by 30%

18 March 2011

Wine merchant Oddbins has published details of its Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) which if accepted by creditors would see it slash its rent payments by 30%.

LXB Retail buys development land from the Crown Estate

17 March 2011

LXB Retail Properties has exchanged contracts to buy 20 acres of development site from the Crown Estate.

Three senior retail agents quit Knight Frank

16 March 2011

Three senior Knight Frank retail agents have resigned.

Peel backs JJB Sports' second CVA proposal

16 March 2011

Peel Holdings has publicly backed JJB Sports’ proposed second Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) and has called on other retail landlords to join it.

DevSecs secures planning for The Square retail scheme in Hale Barns

16 March 2011

Development Securities has secured planning permission to redevelop The Square retail and residential scheme in Hale Barns, Greater Manchester.

JJB publishes new business plan outlining store transformations

15 March 2011

JJB Sport has published its new business plan aimed at transforming its stores after announcing that like for like sales had dropped by 13.5% between 24 January and 13 March.

Four retail agents quit DTZ

11 March 2011

Four DTZ retail agents have announced they are leaving the firm.

Derwent London buys two West End buildings for £76m

10 March 2011

Derwent London has bought two London West End properties for £76m.

Sovereign Land and Area sign fashion retailer Bank in their first Ayr Central letting

9 March 2011

Sovereign Land and Area have secured their first letting at the Ayr Central Shopping Centre just a month after completing their purchase of the scheme.

Jones Lang LaSalle beefs up its European retail capital markets teams

8 March 2011

Jones Lang LaSalle has made two appointments to its European retail capital markets teams in Spain and Sweden, strengthening its position in the retail investment market in EMEA.

Forever 21 signs for first Scottish store

7 March 2011

US fashion retailer Forever 21 is thought to have signed to take it’s first store in Scotland at Land Securities’ proposed Atlas development in Glasgow.

Inditex acquires $324m Fifth Avenue New York store

7 March 2011

Spanish retailer Inditex has acquired the former National Basketball Association store at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan for $324m (£198.6m), in a record deal for a U.S. retail condominium property. 

JJB plans 50% rent cut and up to 89 store closures in CVA

3 March 2011

JJB Sports is planning to close up to 89 stores over the next two years under the terms of its Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

Crown Estate buys £61m Portsmouth retail park

2 March 2011

Capital & Regional’s Junction Fund has sold Ocean Retail Park in Portsmouth, Hampshire, to the Crown Estate for £60.85m.

HMV in talks with lenders after profit warning

1 March 2011

Retailer HMV said in a trading update today that it was in talks with its lenders to avoid breaching debt covenants at the end of the financial year.

Henderson buys £33m Cambridge retail asset

28 February 2011

Henderson Global Investors has bought Christ’s Lane, a high street asset in Cambridge, from Land Securities for £33.16m, representing a 5.25% net initial yield.

Kandahar and Catalyst refinancing collapses

25 February 2011

Catalyst Capital’s refinancing of David Ross’ £192m Kandahar portfolio has collapsed after Lloyds Banking Group felt the offer did not reflect the true value of the assets.

New West End Company submits plans for Oxford Street "shopper pavilion"

25 February 2011

The New West End Company has submitted a planning application to Westminster City Council this morning for a first shopper pavilion on Oxford Street.

Prupim appoints Savills in Dundee

24 February 2011

Prupim has appointed Savills as leasing agent on the Wellgate Shopping Centre in Dundee.

Quintain buys 28% stake in new retail investment business

24 February 2011

Quintain Estates & Development has bought a 28% stake in new retail investment business, Albemarle Retail Properties. 

Reubens complete Eden shopping centre buy

23 February 2011

Aldersgate Investments, an investment company of the billionaire Reuben brothers, has completed the purchase of the Eden Shopping Centre in High Wycombe, as part of a buyback of property from a joint venture with Brookfield.

Aldo to pay record rent to stay at Oxford Street store

22 February 2011

Shoe retailer Aldo has agreed to pay a record rent when it returns to its flagship Oxford Street store after it is revamped and more than doubled in size.

Pizza Express and Dean's Diner sign at CBRE Investors' Port Solent scheme

21 February 2011

Pizza Express and Dean’s Diner have signed at CBRE Investors’ Port Solent retail and leisure scheme in Portsmouth.

John Lewis to open Birmingham New Street store

21 February 2011

John Lewis has confirmed that New Street station will be the location for its new Birmingham department store.

Metric Property Investments buys Leeds retail redevelopment opportunity

21 February 2011

Metric Property Investments is to develop an 85,000 sq ft retail scheme in Kirkstall, Leeds, after buying a Bhs store for £12m.

Abercrombie to open in Dublin

18 February 2011

US fashion retailer Abercrombie and Fitch has taken a lease at 34 College Green, a former banking hall building, in Dublin’s city centre. 

Hobbycraft has UK sewn up

18 February 2011

Wilkinson Williams to lead plan for arts and crafts retailer to open a further 80 out-of-town stores

Waitrose to open first Cardiff store

17 February 2011

Waitrose is set to open its first store in Cardiff in two months time.

Thorntons to resize high street portfolio

16 February 2011

Thorntons is reviewing the size of its store portfolio after it reported a decline in profits in the second half of 2010.

UK property beats rest of Europe, says CBRE

16 February 2011

The UK property market grew in value by 8.9% in 2010, almost double that of its nearest European competitor, according to the latest research by CB Richard Ellis.

Helical life “far from dull”

16 February 2011

Life at listed development company Helical Bar is “far from dull”, chief executive Mike Slade said today, as it confirmed shopping centre acquisitions of £34m.

Knight Frank Investors acquires Farnborough shopping centre for £26.3m

15 February 2011

Knight Frank Investors has bought the Princes Mead shopping centre in Farnborough, Hampshire for £26.3m.

UK Commercial Property Trust buys £50m Leicester retail park

15 February 2011

UK Commercial Property Trust, the UK’s largest property investment trust, has bought the St George’s Retail park in Leicester for £49.9m.

Debenhams opens its first pop-up shop in the West End

14 February 2011

Debenhams has opened its first pop-up shop, after signing a six-month lease on a unit on Newburgh Street, near Carnaby Street in London’s West End.

JJB Sports announces CVA plans

11 February 2011

JJB Sports has confirmed plans to enter into a company voluntary arrangement. The retailer intends to close up to 45 stores, and has placed 50 more under review.

Eternal shoptimists

11 February 2011

In the depths of the recession, few had the guts, the appetite or the funds for retail development. Those that did could hit the jackpot

Blacks chief executive to step down

10 February 2011

Neil Gillis, chief executive of Blacks Leisure Group, will step down from the business in six months.

Tesco completes £685m sale-and-leaseback deal

9 February 2011

Tesco has completed a new sale and leaseback transaction in the latest phase of its ongoing programme to release value from its UK property portfolio.

Green light for "Large Casino” in Hull

9 February 2011

Hull City Council has approved plans for the development of a £100m casino-led leisure and entertainment scheme on the River Hull.

Midweek Bulletin: Westfield Stratford City Special

9 February 2011

Broadcasting from the mammoth shopping centre being developed next to East London’s Olympic Park, Property Week editor-in-chief Giles Barrie and executive editor James Whitmore present this week’s Midweek Bulletin.

Sainsbury's to open new supermarket in Corby

8 February 2011

Sainsbury’s has signed to open a new supermarket in Corby town centre, as part of Land Securities’ redevelopment of the area.

WH Smiths acquires 22 stores

8 February 2011

WH Smith has announced it has acquired 22 stores from British Bookshops and Stationers Limited.

Sovereign Land and AREA complete Ayr Central shopping centre purchase

7 February 2011

Sovereign Land and AREA Property Partners have completed their purchase of the Ayr Central Shopping Centre for £33.8m.

St Modwen submits Longbridge application and reveals solid results

7 February 2011

St. Modwen Properties this morning said it had submitted a detailed planning application to develop a £70m town centre scheme at Longbridge, as it revealed solid results for the year to 30 November.

Pandora signs up to Marylebone office

4 February 2011

Derwent London and The Portman Estate have pre-let a 13,000 sq ft office to international jewellery retailer Pandora Jewellery.

SuperGroup plots European growth with €40m deal for franchise partner

4 February 2011

SuperGroup, the owner of the SuperDry brand, has bought its Benelux and France franchise and distribution partner in a €40m deal.

Stanhope to develop Gloucester shopping centre

4 February 2011

Stanhope has signed a development agreement with Gloucester City Council to develop the 250,000 sq ft King’s Quarter shopping centre scheme.

Waterstones to close 11 stores on Sunday

2 February 2011

HMV Group has announced it will close 11 Waterstones stores this Sunday.

The Crown agrees to buy Ocean Retail Park in Portsmouth

2 February 2011

The Crown Estate has agreed to buy its second retail park in a matter of weeks, after going under offer on the Ocean Retail Park in Portsmouth for around £60m.

JD Sports in talks to buy rival JJB

2 February 2011

Sports retailer JD Sports is in early talks to buy its struggling high-street rival JJB Sports, which is currently attempting to undergo a capital raising exercise  in order to pay back Bank of Scotland debts.

Savills completes Thomas Davidson takeover

31 January 2011

Savills has confirmed the acquisition of specialist London retail agency Thomas Davidson & Partners.

LaSalle extends anchor at Essex centre for Primark

31 January 2011

LaSalle Investment Management will extend the main anchor unit at the High Chelmer Shopping Centre in Chelmsford, Essex, ready for Primark.

Primark to open flagship anchor store at Metrocentre

28 January 2011

Primark will open a flagship store at Metrocentre, making it the centre’s third new anchor inside two years, following the Odeon and TK Maxx.

Whittaker joins Capital Shopping Centres board today

28 January 2011

John Whittaker will join the board of Capital Shopping Centres today, following the £1.6bn purchase of the Trafford Centre from Peel Group by CSC.

Apple and Hollister head for Braehead

28 January 2011

Apple and Hollister have signed to take space at Capital Shopping Centres’ Braehead Shopping Centre and retail park in Renfrew, south-west of Glasgow

Cipriani to court private members for Mayfair club

28 January 2011

Restaurateur and hotelier Giuseppe Cipriani (pictured right, with the Duchess of York) and former footballer and club owner Livio Bisterzo are to open a members club on the site of the former Rififi Club in London’s Mayfair

Christie + Co: Business Outlook 2011

27 January 2011

As market conditions toughened from 2007 onwards, the focus of many investors and operators in our sectors shifted from acquisition and expansion to efficiency improvement and business preservation.

CSC wins shareholder support for £1.6bn Trafford Centre purchase

26 January 2011

Capital Shopping Centres this afternoon won overwhelming support from its shareholders for the £1.6bn purchase of Manchester’s Trafford Centre.

INDITEX signs up to Meyer Bergman's Polish shopping centre at Katowicka

26 January 2011

Meyer Bergman and retail developer NEINVER have signed up INDITEX Group for nearly 43,055 sq ft of retail space in their shopping centre development Galeria Katowicka.

Grosvenor Fund Management in talks to buy €350m European shopping centres

26 January 2011

Grosvenor Fund Management is thought to be in talks to buy €350m (£303m) of shopping centres in Sweden and France.

JD Sports expands in Ireland with acquisition of Champion Sports Holdings

25 January 2011

JD Sports Fashion has announced that it has exchanged contracts to acquire Champion Sports Holdings for a nominal amount.

Ordnance Survey reveals changed state of high street

21 January 2011

The number of estate agents, building societies and auction houses on the high street has fallen significantly since the onset of the recession, according to Ordnance Survey.

Savills/Thomas Davidson deal to complete "by the end of the month"

20 January 2011

Savills is in negotiations to buy niche retail firm Thomas Davidson with the deal expected to be announced at the end of the month. 

British Land and Tesco refinance £318m joint venture

19 January 2011

British Land and Tesco have refinanced their £318m superstores joint venture.

Invesco completes £17m Bromley buy

18 January 2011

Investment manager Invesco Real Estate has completed its first purchase for its third UK fund. It has bought a 104,026 sq ft retail property in Bromley, south-east London for £17.05m.

Galliard Homes reveals Chiltern Street Car Park plans

17 January 2011

Plans for the residential redevelopment of London’s Chiltern Street Car Park have been unveiled, after an application was submitted to Westminster City Council.

£50m One Hyde Park retail sell off

17 January 2011

The three retail units that form part of One Hyde Park are to be put on the market for £50m – a 3% yield.

Capital & Regional completes £50m Bristol sale

17 January 2011

Capital & Regional’s Mall Fund has completed the £50.2m sale of The Galleries shopping centre in Bristol to HSBC European Active Real Estate Trust, as revealed by Property Week.

Retail void rates fall by 1.4%, the first fall in four years, Colliers reveals

14 January 2011

Retail void rates have fallen by 1.4%, the first fall in four years, research by Colliers International has shown.

Agreement signed in £452m Regent Street deal

13 January 2011

Norges Bank, which manages the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, today signed an agreement to purchase a 25% stake of the Crown Estate’s Regent Street portfolio.

Morrisons to buy 16 Netto stores from Asda for £28.1m

12 January 2011

Morrisons has agreed to buy 16 former Netto stores from Asda for £28.1m.

Sainsbury’s reports strong third-quarter sales

12 January 2011

Sainsbury’s, UK’s second largest food retailer, revealed its best-ever Christmas trading “in a challenging consumer environment”.

SuperGroup Christmas retail sales rise by 93.6%

12 January 2011

Fashion retailer SuperGroup, owner of the Superdry brand, has announced its best-ever Christmas trading period, with sales up by 93.6% on last year to £51.7m.

Caffè Nero completes £140m debt refinancing to fund new stores

11 January 2011

Caffè Nero has completed a £140m refinancing of its debt in order to fund the business’s future growth plans.

Simon abandons CSC bid

11 January 2011

Simon Property Group this morning abandoned its bid for Capital Shopping Centres (CSC), saying CSC did not provide the information it needed to proceed.

Free white paper: Empty property - Protect and Survive

10 January 2011

Owners of more than three-quarters of UK properties are at risk if their building is extensively damaged, because they don’t have the right insurance. And even worse, they don’t know they’re at risk.

Land Securities appoints new Cabot Circus centre director

7 January 2011

Land Securities has appointed a new centre director at its 1.1m sq ft Cabot Circus shopping centre in Bristol.

Government appoints Tesco's Leahy to draw up Liverpool plan

6 January 2011

The government has commissioned outgoing Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy to draw up a regional economic plan for Liverpool.

Next loses £22m of sales and predicts uncertain outlook for 2011

6 January 2011

Fashion retailer Next revealed it lost £22m of sales, representing 2.2% of the season’s total sales, due to bad weather in the run up to Christmas.

Henderson Global Investors increases its stake in Brum's Fort Shopping Park to 50%