Laura Ashley has taken Unit K on the Eastgate retail park, providing 9,829 sq ft, on a new 10-year lease at £270,297 pa, equating to £27.50 per sq ft. Wilkinson Williams and Savills were letting agents on behalf of Hercules Unit Trust and HSBC.

? Colliers Wood

WH Smith has taken a 10-year lease on the 4,667-sq ft Unit 1b at the Tandem Centre at £214,682 pa, equating to £46.00 per sq ft. Wilkinson Williams and Cushman & Wakefield were letting agents on behalf of Hermes Real Estate.

? Dagenham

Axa Sun Life has let the 12,019-sq ft Unit 3 on the Merrielands retail park in Ripple Road to Dreams on a 10-year lease with a mutual break option at year five. A rent of £206,727 pa or £17.20 per sq ft was agreed. Wilkinson Williams was letting agent.

? EXETER

Gamestation has acquired Unit 1 in the Guildhall shopping centre, providing 1,391 sq ft on ground floor with basement storage by way of a new 10-year lease at £112,500 pax. Williams Gunter Hardwick acted on behalf of Gamestation, while the lessor, Norwich Property Trust, was represented by Jackson Criss.

? Lincoln

Standard Life Investments' Pooled Property Pension Fund has let a 2,040-sq ft two-level unit at St Mark's shopping centre to Costa Coffee on a new 15-year lease at £55,000 pa. Strutt & Parker was letting agent and Cushman & Wakefield represented Costa.

? Livingston

Boots is to expand its existing 9,167-sq ft store in the Almondvale shopping centre to 15,820 sq ft. The company has taken a new 15-year lease on the larger unit at 88/89 Almondvale South at £500,000 pa after four months rent-free. And hairdressing salon Hush has agreed a 10-year lease on a unit providing 2,593 sq ft on ground level and 2,919 sq ft on the first floor at £55,000 pa after three months rent-free. Montagu Evans and Culverwell acted on behalf of landlord Land Securities. Eric Young & Co advised Boots and Storeys ssp Hush.

? Northampton

Northampton Holdings has set a record rent for the Weston Favell shopping centre by creating an extended unit for Barclays Bank. The landlord agreed a surrender of the bank's existing lease on Unit 37 and Select's neighbouring Unit 38 before reletting the combined unit of 3,676 sq ft to Barclays on a 15-year lease at £150,000 pa, reflecting £90 zone A. Churston Heard advised the landlord.

? Reading

Ivy Park has let 133 Broad Street Mall to Jako Interiors. The designer furniture retailer has taken the 1,162-sq ft property on a 10-year lease at £25,000 pa inclusive of service charge after a six-month rent free period. Churston Heard was letting agent.

? Rotherham

Pets at Home has taken the 10,000-sq ft Unit 1b at Parkgate Shopping on a 15-year lease at £30,000 pa, equating to £30.00 per sq ft. Wilkinson Williams, Morgan Williams and Harvey Spack Field were letting agents on behalf of the Hercules Unit Trust and Green & Partners advised the tenant.

? Stockton

Asda Living has taken the 24,703-sq ft Unit 12b at the Teesside Shopping Park on a 15-year lease at £716,387 pa or £29.00 per sq ft. Landlord British Land was advised by Wilkinson Williams and Colliers CRE. GVA Grimley represented the tenant.

? Strood

Matalan has taken the 21,500-sq ft Unit 1b on the Strood retail park on a 15-year lease at £473,000 pa, equating to £22.00 per sq ft. Wilkinson Williams and Edgerley Simpson Howe & Partners were letting agents on behalf of RREEF and Land Securities. Savills represented the tenant.

? Torquay

Wilkinsons has taken an assignment of Somerfield's lease on the 48,670-sq ft anchor store at the Union Square shopping centre. The property is held on a 35-year lease from June 1982 at £425,000 pa. Rowley Hughes Thompson represented Wilkinsons.

? Wakefield

The 10,032-sq ft Unit 9b at British Land's Westgate retail park has been taken by Storeys Carpets on a 15-year lease at £195,684 pa or £19.50 per sq ft. Wilkinson Williams was letting agent and Harvey Spack Field advised the tenant.

? YORK

PC World has taken a 10-year lease on a 25,000-sq ft unit at Henry Boot's Clifton Moor development. A rent of £387,500 pa or £15.50 per sq ft was agreed. King Sturge and Hill Woolhouse were letting agents and Wilkinson Williams advised the tenant.

? Cardiff

Sapphire Retail Fund's £2.3m second-phase refurbishment of the Queens Arcade has seen the arrival of another major UK retailer. Opening its first shop in Wales, Triumph International has taken a 10-year lease on a 1,800-sq ft unit at an average annual rent of £121,500 pa. King Sturge and Hartnell Taylor Cook advised Sapphire.

? Livingston

Orange is the latest tenant to sign up to The Elements, Land Securities' 375,000- sq ft extension to the Almondvale shopping centre. The mobile network operator has taken a 1,540-sq ft store at 318 Almondvale South at £143,000pa. The Elements, due to open in October 2008, is to be anchored by Marks & Spencer and Debenhams.

? Darlington

Moorfield Group has recently let 8 Northgate at the Cornmill shopping centre to Costa for 10 years at £69,000 pa. The unit provides 1,400 sq ft, with additional storage located at ground floor and basement levels. Costa Coffee was represented by Briant Champion Long, while DTZ and Churston Heard acted for Moorfield.

palace exchange a magnet to tenants

ING Real Estate has signed Argos and Lidl for Palace Exchange, its 160,000-sq ft shopping centre development in Enfield, north London. The scheme is now over 96 per cent let or under offer.

European discount supermarket chain Lidl has taken 15,136 sq ft on a 15-year lease at £16 per sq ft. And Argos will occupy 9,000 sq ft in a double height unit that has the flexibility to add a mezzanine. The stores are located on Cecil Road, adjacent to the main pedestriansed street of stores at Palace Exchange, and situated directly beneath the scheme's 530-space multi-storey car park. The Cecil Road units are connected to the main shopping street by a pedestrian footbridge.

Richard Macartney, director of leasing at ING Real Estate said: "These latest deals effectively represent the last major piece in the jigsaw of lettings at Palace Exchange. The town centre location and excellent parking facilities complement both retailers' offers, further increasing footfall at the scheme and completing our retail offer."

Following these deals, only one high street unit remains available on the main open street scheme: the 1,214-sq ft Unit 4. Chase & Partners and Nash Bond are letting agents for Palace Exchange.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend