Peel Retail Parks bucks national trend with strong growth

Mark Whittaker

Peel Retail Parks has reported strong visitor growth at its 10 out-of-town retail parks across the UK in 2018, in contrast to the backdrop of declining retail nationally.

While high street and retail parks footfall dropped for the 13th consecutive month nationally, falling more than two per cent in December according to the British Retail Consortium, Peel Retail Parks, part of Manchester-based Peel Land & Property, has reported a 24% rise in overall footfall over the past two years across its parks.

Peel Retail Parks, which owns and manages retail parks in Barnsley, Blackburn, Bristol, Edinburgh, Corby, Gloucester, Trafford, Stockport, Sunderland and Yeovil, has reported almost 24 million visits across the entire portfolio throughout the year.

Mark Whittaker, property investment director at Peel L&P, said: “We are all aware of the significant challenges facing the retail sector in the current market but, from challenge, opportunities arise which is why retail is constantly evolving.

“The growth of online retail is changing the way people shop, plus the uncertainty of Brexit is creating caution among the investment market. It’s essential to stay ahead of the changes in order to survive and thrive.

“Peel L&P has always believed in the out-of-town retail sector and continues to do so today.

“Despite all the negative media news stories, our retail park portfolio continues to prosper with sustained annual growth supported by underlying occupancy levels at over 93% nationally, with several of our parks maintaining 100% occupancy.

“Our in-house, experienced and dedicated retail team, consisting of Roger Wheeldon, Leah Taylor, Adam Jolley, Gareth Finch and David Parry, are all fully engaged with the fast-changing dynamics of the retail market and are constantly exploiting new ideas and initiatives to further enhance the portfolio.”

Peel’s retail parks are reporting a strong position, despite the raft of various retailers going into CVAs.

Roger Wheeldon, director of development for Peel Retail Parks, explained: “We are turning this perceived negative situation into a positive, by deploying funds into our vacant stores to provide much-improved and modernised places for customers and retailers.”

At the same time, Peel L&P is obtaining new retail planning consents, working with the expanding and active retailers in the out-of-town retail market, such as Home Bargains, JD Sports, B&M Bargains, Iceland, Aldi and Lidl.

In addition, the team always looks to complement the retail park offering with food and beverage operators such as Starbucks, Greggs and Costa, providing a more varied shopping destination for the customers.

Roger added: “What is evident in the market is those retailers who actually embrace online retailing, with the appropriate stock and the implementation of modern click and collect options within stores, are typically retailers who tend to trade more successfully.

“The retailers who are adapting the physical stores with the change in consumer habits do very well.”

Some of Peel Retail Park’s notable ongoing developments include:

  • Construction of the new £5.5m, 45,000 sq ft Next store at Gloucester Retail Park, which is due to open March 2019
  • Construction of a new retail terrace at Straiton Retail Park, Edinburgh. This £10m modern, contemporary glass-fronted terrace will house up to 11 smaller units ranging from 1,500 to 6,000 sq ft, creating a total development extension of 25,500 sq ft to the park
  • The creation of a new Aldi food store and Starbucks Drive Thru at Trafford Retail Park, which is set to open early 2020

Leah Taylor, development manager for Peel Retail Parks said: “All these developments are transformational for the retail parks and are the culmination of many years of hard work in securing the planning, tenants and funding.”

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