Second phase of Southside is off to a flying start
Published: 06 May, 2010
The second phase of Southside Shopping Centre in Wandsworth is commencing with the announcement of a new 30,000-sq ft TK Maxx anchor store taken on a 15-year lease.
The two-storey, full-format store will open this summer, anchoring the North Mall of Southside, opening directly onto Wandsworth High Street and sitting opposite the former Ram Brewery site. Metro Shopping Fund, the Land Securities and Delancey joint venture, will now proceed with a reconfiguration and refurbishment of units to create the large format TK Maxx store and is speaking to a number of other retailers about further opportunities in the remaining space.
Anchoring the opposite end of North Mall will be fashion retailer New Look. Metro Fund has signed the popular fashion brand to a new 12,000sq ft fashion store taken on a 10-year lease. New Look will occupy a reconfigured unit linking North Mall to the Central Mall, where a 4,500-sq ft Republic store has added to the fashion line-up.
Steve Burgin, retail asset management director, on behalf of Metro Fund, said: “The introduction of two major new North Mall retailers is crucial to delivering the next phase of Southside’s transformation and allows us to revitalise this important entrance to the scheme from Wandsworth High Street.
“We are committed to enhancing our Wandsworth town centre asset and creating retail space that attracts quality retailers to secure Southside’s position as the main fashion and lifestyle destination in the area. Our leasing policy has continued to shift the centre’s retail mix with a range of brands more consistent with Wandsworth’s affluent ABC1 core catchment; UniQlo, River Island, Body Shop and more recently Gap and Tiger. The arrival of Republic on the Central Mall is further evidence of this strategy.”
Metro Fund has been investing in phased refurbishment at Southside, to introduce double height units on Central Mall for retailers such as River Island and Gap, while a further phase of investment, fronting the important Garratt Lane entrance to the scheme, is under consideration.
