European private equity real estate investment manager, MARK, has appointed Bruce Gillingham Pollard to advise on retail leasing alongside CBRE at the Borough Yards development in London SE1.

The 140,000 sq.ft mixed use scheme, adjacent to the historic Borough Market, is south London’s newest food, retail, leisure and office landmark. Everyman Cinema, Barrafina, Brother Marcus, and The Office Group, which has taken 51,000 sq.ft of space, are among the key tenants.

The site was originally a mixture of derelict land and Victorian railway arches, which have since been restored and repurposed as part of its redevelopment. Designed by award-winning SPARCC, Borough Yards features five mixed-use buildings and public realm.

Borough Yards opened its doors in early 2022, with Paul Smith, Parillan, Bar Daskal, Burger & Beyond, Butchies and Vinoteca other high-profile tenants capitalising upon the area’s high footfall rates.

The scheme connects Borough Market with the River Thames’ South Bank, while London Bridge Station is less than two minutes’ walk away. London’s financial district, Shakespeare’s Globe and Tate Modern are in the immediate area.

Lily Lin, Managing Director at MARK commented: “Borough Yards represents a new chapter for the area and joins a growing list of successful urban redevelopment projects undertaken by MARK. The creation or redevelopment of city-defining landmarks will remain a key focus of ours and work alongside our specialist platform strategy.

“Attracting established and globally appealing occupiers is an integral part of that and the quality of tenants at Borough Yards illustrates our ability to execute this well. We’re looking forward to working with Bruce Gillingham Pollard on strengthening and diversifying the brands which complement our exciting line-up of food & drink concepts.”

Bruce Gillingham Pollard Managing Director, Tracey Pollard, commented: “Borough Yards is rapidly evolving into one of London’s most exciting and multi-faceted retail and hospitality environments”.

“It’s housed in a sensitive and ingenious development which meshes superbly with the surrounding historic building landscape and benefits from the millions of visitors who make their way to this historic and vibrant parts of London.”

Each year BGP review the themes and drivers impacting our markets and explore how they are shaping the world of retail, F&B and leisure. However, before we look forward, it’s always useful to look back to see how last year’s predications shaped up, so this is a quick recap of our 2021 trends;

• New Members’ Clubs
• Men’s Make-Up
• Rental Fashion
• The Growth of the Neighbourhood
• A New Approach

If you would like the BGP team to present their 2022 trend predictions in person or via Teams, please get in contact with Cara Milligan.

This time last year we were thrilled to welcome international renowned London florist McQueens, a global name in luxury floral design to North Audley Street only a stones throw away from Oxford street.

Their flagship store situated in the heart of the West End is the UK’s largest floral emporium. The 2,500 sq ft store displays an array of beautiful flowers and their international flower school hosts workshops from one day through to five week vocational courses.

McQueen’s joined existing retailers on the street such as Duck & Dry, Jab Boxing, Mercato Metropolitano and Joe & The Juice to name a few. Lucy Cope acted on behalf of our client Grosvenor to secure this letting. The unit is a prominent corner unit and it was not only important for us that the retailer looked beautiful from the outside but that this was an activating use, providing a unique offering for both the local residents as well as the office population.

For further info of opportunities available in North Mayfair please contact Charlotte Roberts or Lucy Cope

22 Bishopsgate is newest addition to the London Skyline and an incredibly memorable project to be working on.

2021 has seen the opening of this ‘vertical village’ where the office occupants will have access to everything under one roof. From grab & go food to a restaurant, gym to a wellness retreat, all within the 61 floors.

We’ve seen the opening of the 22,000 sq.ft market secured by Woody Bruce on behalf of axa. Offering the occupants of 22 access to various kiosk style food options, coffee by the gentleman’s baristas,  a wine bar and a restaurant with terrace. Brought to you by Rhubarb.

We’ve also announced the recent letting to BXR on the 25th floor, secured by Charlotte Roberts, providing a workout with views for days!

And there’s more news to come in 2022 for levels 41 and 58-61. Watch this space

Contact Woody, Charlotte or Thea  for enquiries.

Film credit Alexander James TAIOkay

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXYJ-B0IUAK/

We’ve seen an acceleration in the number of pop-ups in the last 18 months, with many Landlords now more open to considering shorter lease terms, this maybe as a result of the increase in voids, an understanding of the power of their marketing potential or as part of a rates mitigation strategy.

From a brands perspective, pop-ups provide a great opportunity to expand their reach, particularly as digital coverage has become so competitive, as well as allowing them to showcase new products, so we are seeing a wealth of interest in our pop-up opportunities.

Lucy McGowan-Scanlon worked with several BGP clients to secure exciting pop-up tenants and for Episode 3 of BGP Connects she talks to Laura Fernie and Tom Atkinson from TFL.

Well ahead of the trend, TFL were pioneers of the pop-up with the activation of Old Street Roundabout in 2014, so Laura and Tom offered a valuable insight into the merits of this developing sector.

La Rampa is the newest addition to GPE’s Market Place, W1 curtesy of the fantastic MJMK.

Bar La Rampa recreates the atmosphere of 1950s Havana with the fabulous cocktail menu developed by @mr_marcis and the food menu by @tata_eatery; a combination that doesn’t disappoint!

It’s been great to see how many independent brands have taken the last 12 months to develop concepts and open out of lockdown with a bang. We can’t wait to spend more time in this slice of Havana heaven!

Thea Rowe of BGP acted on behalf of GPE and Rich Willcox, Etch acted on behalf of MJMK.

Recent court decisions that have found in favour of landlords seeking rent arrears should not be seen as the only way forward in terms of repairing retail property revenue flows.

It’s certainly too early for landlords to be celebrating unreservedly: in the instance of the most high-profile decision – which saw Westfield make a claim against The Fragrance Shop – there is a possibility that the High Court decision could be appealed.

It would be worrying if landlords saw the courts as the only remedy as it would be against their best interests. While the recent case decisions may have many landlords calling their lawyers, it needs to be remembered that making court claims for non-payment of rent is going to be a hazardous and protracted process. On a practical level, the courts are likely to be jammed with cases for many months and even then, there’s no certainty of getting a result.

Yes, there will be instances where there has been an irretrievable breakdown between the landlord and the occupier and it will be ‘see you in court’. But from a wider perspective, landlords need to be looking at their overall strategy to mend the financial damage caused by the pandemic and the exacerbation of the problems that were already facing the retail sector.

Base and turnover leases can help, but only if you can do the affordability modelling which gives you a feel for what different types of occupier can turnover in any given unit and location.  You want rents to be sustainable for the occupier and in line with what their revenues are: this protects both positions.  In this context, we created an affordability model for restaurants pre-Covid which we have developed further across various F&B sub-sectors and leisure uses.

Sharing risks and rewards greatly enhances the occupier and landlord relationship and brings more coherence to asset strategy. Winning in court may be a ‘jam today’ remedy for landlords, but it doesn’t address the longer-term issue of creating sustainable rental income.

Dan Taylor, Head of Lease Advisory was featured in Property Week talking about the challenges of lease resolutions.