Frasers Group has taken over a Next Beauty & Home store at the Metrocentre in Gateshead for a new two-in-one flagship. The 130,000sq ft. store will house Flannels and Sports Direct together. The Next Beauty & Home store was launched in October 2020 following the collapse of former occupier Debenhams, and Next will now consolidate its beauty and home offering into another site at the centre. The centre’s existing Flannels and Sports Direct stores will close when the new store opens.
According to data from AlixPartners and CGA, 14% of licensed premises in the City of London closed between March 2020 and June 2022. Continued home working has impacted the financial district and its hospitality sector in particular. Birmingham also saw around 14% of its restaurants close. Within London, Croydon, Ealing and Hounslow were the only boroughs with more closures. However, managing director at AlixPartners Graeme Smith commented that “given the catastrophic events of the past two years, numbers have held up well.”
Frasers Group has offloaded a portfolio of retail parks owned by its subsidiaries to RI UK 1, with the aim of putting the proceeds towards the company and its operations. The portfolio is understood to include properties in Wigan, Cheshunt, Thurrock and Cheetham Hill, along with Aberdeen’s Berryden Retail Park. In a statement, Frasers Group said that its fascias “will operate from leases within these properties where appropriate.”
The Lexicon retail and leisure scheme in Bracknell has announced a host of new signings. Part of a joint venture between Schroders Capital UK Real Estate Fund and Legal & General Capital, Hobbs, Wimpy, Gymfinity Kids, Laser Clinic, Hat and Home and Perfect Smile have agreed leases at the Thames Valley scheme, which is now 70% let.