Trends

Tracey Pollard

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.

Customer Experience, why is it important?

Jamie Orme

We’ve all walked into a shop or restaurant and been confronted by an over enthusiastic member of staff who makes you want to turn around and head straight back towards the door. It’s a typically English response when trying to enjoy one of the nation’s favourite past-times, no small talk…

The Permanent Benefits of Pop-Ups

Tracey Pollard

There is a great deal of  talk in our industry about pop-ups as it’s essential at this time of disruption to help landlords activate voids through securing short-term occupiers. We believe the secret to the success of a pop-up is targeting brands which fit within an existing mix and complement…

So, is this the vision of future shopping habits?

Andrew McGregor

So, is this the vision of future shopping habits? What might have been a 5/10 year vision 12 months ago, COVID 19 has accelerated the move to a more “omni-channel” experience. The Issa Brothers and TDR’s acquisition of ASDA came with this idea – no longer a behemoth store with…

We spend so much on our physical well-being why shouldn’t we take as much care of our mental well-being?

Thea Rowe

Mental health awareness has been on the rise over the last few years. We are seeing mental health being spoken about more and more. Celebrities are speaking out and we are beginning to take away the stigma of mental health by being encouraged to talk about it more.

Arguably mental wellness is more important than ever. Covid 19 has had a detrimental effect on so many people’s mental health largely due to the change in routine and lack of social contact. We were incredibly lucky at BGP, being such a family like company we were all in contact three times a week, for a sociable catch up via teams which helped to keep some sort of normality. Since being back at the office we were all acutely aware of how the routine and face to face human interaction is so important. However we are fortunate to be in such a position, so many have struggled with the shift to the more insular and digital life which seemingly will continue until next year at least.

Last year I began working with mental well-being specialist The Soke (pictured) to help them acquire their first site. I am so proud to have secured them the former David Fielden in Chelsea. They have completely transformed this building and the incredible fit out and attention to detail completely transforms your pre conceptions of how you think a mental wellness clinic looks. It’s welcoming, stylish and approachable; which is exactly what all of our approach to mental wellness should be. We spend so much on our physical well-being why shouldn’t we take as much care of our mental well-being?

The Soke opened their doors earlier this week to clients. Psychotherapy, psychiatry, counselling and coaching “in an environment created for your emotional comfort”

Thea Rowe is The Soke’s sole retained agent.

The Rise of Community Spirit and how Independent Retailers have reacted…

Lucy Cope

“A renewed sense of community is welcomed news for independent businesses, with a growing desire to support local stores in life after lockdown.” (Source: Food Manufacture Online) The world as we know it has come to a halt and each and every one of us has been forced to adapt…

London’s new generation venues – more than just a music space?

by Dominic Tixerant

London’s night-time economy is estimated to bring up to £26billion into the UK economy this year – but it is undergoing drastic changes. Music venues and nightclubs, often the heart of communities and catalysts for culture and creativity, are facing unprecedented challenges, driven by urban redevelopment and the associated planning…

GDVs and the hidden values of placemaking with nightlife

Why developers should be smart in their quest for returns

Looking at traditional methods of development appraisal, the viability of a scheme is determined by financial models that evaluate schemes based on quantifiable information. With the drive in brownfield regeneration, cities are seeing unprecedented change with profits for residential developers are soaring. Many developers would acknowledge that the relationship between…

The increasing importance of children on the High Street

It is becoming more and more important to consider uses which cater to children as part of High Street and development leasing.
by Emily Dumbell

Somewhat in contrast to those decrying the ‘demise of the High Street’, it is great to see recently good positivity and leasing activity generated by concepts which are focussed on children and families. In addition to traditional toy and clothes retailers, we are also seeing concepts centred on kids’ entertainment or teaching, including nurseries, creches, tuition centres and even families’ members clubs. We have recently seen a flurry in requirements ranging in size from 1,500 sq ft up to 12,000 sq ft.

In our internet-era, curating reasons to visit a High Street or new development is vital, whether it is for activities, services or meeting up. By visiting and participating in social activities within a location, people interact and build communities and crucially, drive footfall to the neighbouring restaurants and retailers throughout the day and week.

A nursery or creche means morning and afternoon / evening footfall. Class based activities generate footfall throughout the day, from parent and baby classes to coding or English tuition after school.

At the weekend, parents are forever seeking places to escape the house and occupy children and until now, traditional, primary coloured soft play centres have held the monopoly for this, despite the fact that typically, parents do not enjoy their time spent there! Cue a collective sigh of relief from parents for the new wave of entertainment spaces, such as Kidz#1 at Dickens Yard, Ealing, which are the contemporary equivalent with a fresh design and areas designated and designed for parents too.

Brands such as Cupcake and Slice (Parsons Green) provide a community hub for parents and children. Through membership, parents can access creche facilities, classes, soft play but they can also head upstairs to the sister brand Slice for fitness classes whilst their children are safely cared for. This provides both a safe sanctuary for parents to relax with support around them, but also a place to meet new friends.

N Family Club and Kido are two nursery and creche brands also capitalising on the growing recognition by Landlords cottoning on to the value that these uses can bring as anchors to their Estate or developments. Well established occupiers like Kumon, Explore Learning and Code Ninjas are focussed on extra-curricular classes and generate regular footfall as classes are booked in advance.

By placing these sorts of operators into their locations, there is a real hope from the Landlord that retailers, restaurants and leisure activities can benefit from an overspill and additional driver to the area and certainly it is part of a pattern of more holistic letting approaches that our clients are taking in affluent ‘Village’ locations. For ‘place’ to thrive, especially in a new destination, the needs of the whole catchment need to be considered, even those of the very young!