CapCo has high hopes for Covent Garden
Published: 03 August, 2010
Capital & Counties, the central London specialist recently demerged from Liberty International, has unveiled a strong set of results for its central London portfolio, dominated by its holdings in and around Covent Garden market.
The Covent Garden estate, with 92 shops and 41 restaurants, had a capital value £592m as at 30 June 2010, up 7 per cent in six months, while net rental income was up 4.0 per cent to £12.9m.
Capital & Counties strategy is to capitalise on its global reputation, which already attracts over 46m visitors pa. Apple is about to open a new flagship store in the redeveloped Bedford Chambers, and global luxury company the Burberry Group has taken 42 King Street.
“This letting is a further step in implementing our rezoning strategy for this part of the estate, and demonstrates the appeal of Covent Garden to international retailers,” said chief executive Ian Hawksworth.
“At near-full occupancy within the estate, this repositioning requires a proactive approach from our on-site management team,” Hawksworth added. He pointed to recent lettings to Kurt Geiger and Sketchers on James Street and the introduction of smaller niche retailers such as L’Artisan Parfumeur and Erno Laszlo into the Market Building as examples of this approach.
