ESH advise Pure Gym on three new south east lettings.

Pure Gym are to open 3 new gyms in the south east, continuing with their expansion. These new gyms are in Reading Calcot within the Sainsburys store; Westgate Retail Park in Aldershot and The Mall Shopping Centre in Maidstone.

ESH acted on behalf of Pure Gym on all acquisitions.

Private buyer for Waitrose in Stamford.

The freehold let to Waitrose in Stamford, Lincolnshire has changed hands as another example of the popularity of foodstore investments in the current market. Terms were agreed during the early 2020 lockdown period with competing bids presented to the private owner advised by JLL. The store of around 27,800sqft is let to Waitrose until November 2029 at £430,000pa and the price of just over £7,000,000 reflected an initial return of approx 5.7%. The purchaser, a private Estate, was represented by Edgerley Simpson Howe.

Lidl upsize in Hereford.

ESH, acting on behalf of The Charities Property Fund c/o Savills IM have successfully agreed a new 25 year lease granted to Lidl on Brook Retail Park. Lidl, who formerly occupied approx. 12,000 sq ft will upsize in their current location to a store of 18,635 sq ft. The unit will also undergo refurbishment in line with the retailers modern specification.

Aberdeen Standard Investments secure new Lidl letting in Basingstoke.

Aberdeen Standard Investments have successfully secured a new letting to Lidl at Hatch Warren Retail Park, whilst furniture retailer Dreams has relocated within the scheme.

Lidl have taken a new 23 year lease on a 20,500 sq ft unit formed of the former Dreams unit and the adjacent former Argos unit, who vacated at lease expiry. Dreams have relocated to the former Ponden Homes unit within the scheme on a 10 year lease.

ESH acted for Aberdeen Standard Investments.

CCLA acquire prime Leeds asset.

CCLA has successfully acquired The Range unit, which forms part of Birstall Shopping Park.

The solus store which extends to approx. 43,000 sq ft was previously occupied by Toys R Us but fell vacant following the retailers administration. The Range opened in October 2019 and is positioned in a prime out-of-town retailing destination alongside Birstall Retail Park. Adjacent and nearby occupiers include IKEA, Next, Boots, M&S, Curry’s, Pets at Home & Barker & Stonehouse.

The unit is let off a low starting rent of £10.00 per sq ft and benefits from a WAULT of 10 years. CCLA purchased the asset for £5.545m, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.25%.

Edgerley Simpson Howe acted on behalf of CCLA.

Picton complete new Farmfoods letting and Pets at Home lease extension in Swansea.

Despite the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic, Picton have successfully completed transactions with two essential retailers at Parc Tawe Retail Park (North), Swansea, following the recent upsize of Lidl, which opened in November 2019.

Farmfoods completed a new 15 year lease in the unit formerly occupied by Lidl extending to 10,000 sq ft.

Pets at Home occupy a unit of 10,000 sq ft and have agreed to extend the current expiry of their lease by five years to 2027.

Lidl upsized into the former Homebase unit extending to 36,000 sq ft on a new 20 year lease.

Jay Cable, Head of Asset Management at Picton, commented “In a challenging market, we are delighted to have worked with our existing occupiers to satisfy their requirements and to welcome Farmfoods to the park. The demand for space is a testament to how our occupiers are trading and how the park presents to customers following recent modernisation works.”

Edgerley Simpson Howe and Fletcher Morgan represent Picton.