Category: News

We are delighted to announce that GAIL’s Bakery have taken possession of their latest outlet in Golders Green, London.

Acting on behalf of the landlord, AS Retail have secured a new 10 year lease with GAIL’s on the former HSBC bank at 897 Finchley Road, the first time this property has been re-let in its history.

This stunning Grade II listed building has an elegant curved façade and sits in a highly prominent location on the corner of Finchley Road and Golders Green Road, opposite Golders Green underground and bus stations. It comprises approximately 1,602 sq ft at ground floor with a 6.5m floor to ceiling height which GAIL’s will utilise to install a mezzanine; it was designed in 1913 for the London, City and Midland Bank who have occupied ever since.

GAIL’s opened their first store in London’s Hampstead High Street in 2005 and now the bakeries are dotted in neighbourhoods in and around London, the home counties and now nationwide serving the communities hand-made breads, pastries, savouries, cakes and great beverages – they are a popular addition to any High Street or Shopping Centre.

Andrew Shepherd, Director at AS Retail commented ‘We received a lot of interest in this fabulous building but GAIL’s are the perfect occupier to make use of this unique space. They were not phased by the listed nature of the building and we look forward to seeing how they transform the building over the coming weeks.”

Positioning itself as the world’s first hybrid football arena, KickX has opened its doors in the centre of Addlestone, bringing a brand-new sporting experience to Surrey.

KickX has spent the past three months fitting out an extensive 14,000 sq ft multi-floor venue at AddlestoneOne, Runnymede Borough Council’s regeneration project that has brought new homes and businesses to the south of the Borough.

KickX will inspire football enthusiasts of all ages to test their skills and experience the thrill of fast, fun, and easy-to-learn games.

KickX offers five different activities across 11 indoor courts, including Padbol, Jorkyball, Teqball, Panna, and KickX VR. This unique concept is expected to draw in football enthusiasts from across the South East bringing new attention, investment, and attractions to Addlestone.

Andrew Shepherd, Director at AS Retail who are the leasing agents at AddlestoneOne and who conducted the negotiations on behalf of the landlord commented “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome KickX to the development. They have chosen Addlestone owing to its strategic location allowing them to reach football enthusiasts, families, community football clubs and schools across the region. Sitting alongside The Light Cinema, Nandos and Smith & Western they help consolidate Addlestone One as the leisure destination to visit in the region. We only have three ground floor spaces and two upper level spaces remaining so please contact myself or the AS Retail team to discuss your requirements.”

In addition to KickX, a new branch of the popular gaming café Geek Retreat will be opening around the same time, offering a location for tabletop gaming, as well as society meetups and events.

AddlestoneOne opened in 2018 to give people more choice and boost the local economy, has been becoming increasingly popular as a destination for businesses. AddlestoneOne encompasses not only the thriving leisure destination but also 214 residential apartments, the majority of which have been successfully sold or rented, a five screen cinema, Premier Inn Hotel and small format Waitrose food store.

AS Retail are excited to announce that our clients Jetts Fitness have opened their latest fantastic club in Colchester, their first club in Essex.

This opening comes hot on the heels of the recent openings in Wandsworth and Hammersmith in London, and Newquay in Cornwell.

We have acquired the 4,500 sq ft former Chiquito restaurant at Tollgate Retail Park, 3 miles to the West of the city centre. Jetts have added a new mezzanine into the double height, semi-circular glazed elevation offering stunning views as you work out plus they will be utilising the outside space for various activities.

As one of the global leaders in health and fitness, Jetts has 15 fantastic clubs across the UK with 2 more in the pipeline and more needed.

Andrew Shepherd, Director as AS Retail who conducted the negotiations on behalf of Jetts commented “We are thrilled to have secured this prominent site for our clients Jetts. The fit out looks stunning and they will bring a fresh approach to the health and fitness provision in Colchester.”

We are actively looking for further sites of between 5,000 – 10,000 sq ft for Jetts across the UK  so please contact us with any opportunities that you feel might suit.

Morgan Williams acted on behalf of the landlord.

AS Retail are delighted to have advised the landlord on securing B&M’s first Surrey store, which is located in Camberley.

The popular discount retailer has opened in the former BHS store on Princess Way, adjacent to The Square Shopping Centre, which comprises a ground floor sales area of 20,369 sq ft plus ancillary accommodation and boasts an extended frontage of over 40m (130 ft).

B&M have over 700 stores in the UK and are a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. They provide customers with a huge variety of products, all under one roof including homewares, health and beauty, DIY, electricals, gifts, toys and a range of garden accessories at very affordable prices.

Andrew Shepherd, Director at AS Retail commented “We are thrilled to have successfully leased this strategically important property in Camberley to B&M after a short marketing campaign. B&M will be an excellent addition to Camberley’s in-town retail offer, driving footfall and bringing an excellent brand to the town which has been desired by the local shoppers. We need to extend a big thanks to both the landlord’s wider team and the B&M team for a smooth and swift transaction.”

AS Retail acted on behalf of the landlord with Burns Property Consultants acted for the tenant.

Acting on behalf of the landlord, AS Retail have successfully leased the former Bargain Buys on High Street in Slough to Iceland on a long-term lease.

The store is arranged over ground floor and first floor with a sales area of approx. 7,400 sq ft and it sits in a prime position in close proximity to Greggs, TK Maxx, Poundland and Specsavers.

Iceland have relocated out the way of the redevelopment at the Queensmere Observatory Shopping Centre.

Andrew Shepherd Director at AS Retail who conducted the negotiations commented “We are thrilled to see the new Iceland now open; it looks superb. We commenced marketing this property in Summer 2020 and it has been quite an effort owing to a lack of initial interest, assessing reconfiguration options, an 11^th hour aborted transaction when a tenant let us down and two changes of control throughout our period of instruction. Our relentless and determined marketing processes have ultimately led to us achieving an excellent result for our clients. A big thanks to the Iceland team for their professionalism and proactiveness throughout the transaction and we wish them every success with their new store.”

Mason & Partners acted for Iceland in the transaction.

We are thrilled to announce that our clients, Cancer Research UK, opened their first in-town superstore in Newcastle under Lyme recently.  Sitting on a prime location on Castle Walk, this former Poundland store provides circa 5,200 sq ft of ground floor sales space plus first floor ancillary accommodation.

CRUK have an extensive estate of ‘core’ shops and are growing their out-of-town superstore presence across GB and Northern Ireland however this new format is an exciting hybrid of both formats. The store was very well received by the local shoppers with a large gathering for the ribbon cutting and the store remained busy all day, generating much needed funds for the continuing battle against all types of cancer.

We are retained to search for new CRUK Superstores in Scotland and Northern Ireland and are able to consider further in-town superstore opportunities across the UK-  please contact Georgina Massey or Andrew Shepherd if you have anything that might suit or to discuss the requirement in more detail.

AS Retail advised Cancer Research UK on the negotiation and acquisition and Barker Proudlove advised the landlord.

On behalf of the landlord, AS Retail have successfully negotiated a back to back surrender and re-letting of the former Toni & Guy unit on Ascot High Street to Hat and Home, an expanding local estate agency business.

The unit totals approx. 814 sq ft and sits in a prime location close to Tesco Express, Costa Coffee, WH Smith and Guinot amongst various other independent and local businesses. Andrew Shepherd, Director at AS Retail who conducted the negotiations on behalf of the landlord commented “This is a parade of shops that I have been involved with for over 10 years and we’re delighted to welcome Hat and Home to the property. They conducted themselves in a highly professional manner during this complex negotiation and we wish them every success with their branch here.”

DMA advised Toni & Guy on the lease surrender. Hat & Home represented themselves.

Exciting news as Cards Direct opened in Regent Street, Swindon at the weekend.

The unit, formerly occupied by Clinton Cards, measures 1,760 sq ft sales plus storage and sits on 100% prime pitch, adjacent to the Body Shop and in close proximity to Primark, JD Sports, WH Smith, Superdrug and Waterstones.

This is Cards Direct’s 51^st store following hot on the heels of the recent opening at Parkway in Newbury and continues to push the boundaries of the geography of the estate with more stores planned to open before Christmas.

Andrew Shepherd, director at AS Retail commented “We have been interested in securing representation Swindon for some time and have been waiting for the right opportunity to arise. I’m therefore delighted we’ve secured this prime unit and we’ll have further announcements of new stores soon”

 

We are absolutely delighted to announce that exciting new soccer themed leisure brand Kick X Football is coming to Addlestone One.

Kick X Football have signed for 14,000 sq ft at the front of the development opposite Nandos and will be opening this Summer. They will be bringing all sorts of innovative hybrid-football based games and technology to the region which will suit kids, families, grassroots football sides, amateur players and pros alike. Activities such as Padbol, Jorkyball, Teqball and Panna amongst others will be available.

Andrew Shepherd, Director at AS Retail who conducted the negotiations on behalf of the landlord commented “Kick X will be an amazing addition to our tenant mix at Addlestone One, giving us another leisure anchor to sit alongside the cinema and I’m sure they will prove to be a major draw from across Surrey and South West London. I can’t wait to try it myself!”

 Watch this space for further information and their launch later this summer and do check out their social pages for more information on their planned activities.

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of luxury nail and beauty salon Townhouse Nails to the stunning Tunsgate Quarter in Guildford.

Townhouse have taken prominent unit 3A which sits in the heart of the scheme on Lower Mall with a full length return frontage on the entrance mall from High Street. Totalling just over 1,000 sq ft the salon looks amazing and is another boost to the tenant profile here.

Tunsgate Quarter sits off Guildford High Street and Tunsgate in the prime retail pitch  in Tunsgate Quarter with occupiers including The White Company, Nespresso, Ivy and Ivy Asia, Gails, Seasalt and TAG amongst others.

We have opportunities to join the line-up at this exclusive retail, leisure and dining location with units ranging from 600 – 4000 sq ft. Please contact Andrew Shepherd at AS Retail or our joint agents Bruce Gillingham Pollard for more information on availability.