Lettings boost for Henderson parks
Published: 15 November, 2011
Henderson Global Investors' £1.1bn UK Retail Warehouse Fund has achieved a series of key lettings
At the Fort shopping park in Birmingham, H&M, Clinton Cards and the Perfume Shop, each new to the park, have acquired new units. Meanwhile, Sports Direct has relocated within the park. Also at Birmingham, a new restaurant unit has been developed for Frankie & Benny’s and a further unit is also being developed for Harvester with a targeted opening of early 2012.
At, Parc Fforestfach, in Swansea, H&M has taken a new lease on the former JJB unit. The unit will open on 17 November 2011. And in Kiddeminster, development is underway for a 56-bedroom Premier Inn which recently exchanged contracts for a long lease. A unit is also being constructed for Starbucks which will enter the park on a 15-year lease. Premier Inn will open early next year with Starbucks due to open in the autumn of 2012.
And at Staples Corner in north London, Hobbycraft has taken a lease to join existing retailers, Argos, Maplin and Homesense on the park.
Michael Neal, fund manager for the Henderson UK Retail Warehouse Fund, said: “Notwithstanding the challenging consumer environment we continue to see good levels of demand across our parks, testament to the quality of the locations and the adaptability we can provide with over 90 per cent of the Fund’s floorspace benefitting from Open A1 planning consent. These lettings are improving tenant mix, vibrancy, dwell times and footfall on our parks which will be the driver of investment performance in the long term.”
