Rockspring and The Other Retail Group welcome new anchor tenants
Published: 06 June, 2011
Rockspring Property Investment Managers and its joint venture partner, The Other Retail Group, have secured leases with Marks & Spencer at Eastgate shopping centre in Gloucester and Wilkinsons at Howgate shopping centre in Falkirk.
Marks & Spencer has signed a 35 year lease on a 64,000 sq ft unit at Eastgate. The new store, which will take a unit previously occupied by Woolworths, is part of a wider strategy to improve the tenant mix.
Having acquired the centre less than a year ago, Rockspring and The Other Retail Group are also planning other longer-term asset management initiatives to rebrand the scheme entrances and to reconfiguring and extending a number of the retail units.
Wilkinsons has taken a 15 year lease on 36,300 sq ft prime unit formerly occupied by Woolworths and will join anchor tenants Marks & Spencer, New Look, Debenhams and Argos.
Richard Bains, Rockspring UK value fund manager, said: “Both of these lettings are important elements of our strategy to improve the performance of this portfolio. They will increase the attractiveness of the centres and raise their profile in the local community, thereby driving both footfall and new occupier interest. As part of our strategy, we will work with our partners to ensure we keep up this momentum and continue to deliver more key lettings at our shopping centres. To this end, we anticipate further announcements at both schemes shortly.”
Both shopping centres were acquired as part of a portfolio of four former Mall Fund assets by Rockspring, in partnership with The Other Retail group, which acts as asset manager. The two other shopping centres in the portfolio are Marlands shopping centre in Southampton and The Mercury in Romford.
Eric Young & Co advised Rockspring and The Other Retail Group in Falkirk and KLM are the retained agents at Gloucester.
