North West retail centres welcome new key additions
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Two of the North West’s key retail centres have announced new openings.
Property group Grosvenor has announced three new additions to its retail centre Liverpool One’s food and beverage line-up, as operators celebrate continued sales success in the sector.
Black Sheep Coffee, the specialty coffee chain, is to make its Liverpool debut in a 1,800 sq ft site at Paradise Place.
The store will feature the brand’s iconic café menu by day, offering a signature range of 100% specialty grade Robusta beans, Norwegian waffles, smoothies, shakes and light bites. By night it will transform into a cocktail bar, serving up Espresso Martinis, craft beer, wine, sourdough pizza and free popcorn.
The store will feature Black Sheep’s ‘Free Coffee Board’ aimed at fighting social exclusion – customers will be able to donate their loyalty rewards to the Free Coffee Board or purchase a drink voucher at a discounted price to be pinned on the board. Anyone who cannot afford coffee can redeem the rewards or vouchers for any hot drink of their choice.
Black Sheep will also forego single-use plastics as part of its commitment to sustainability.
Pan-Asian restaurant COSMO is set to launch its world buffet concept in the city in July from an 11,000 sq ft site on Liverpool One’s Manesty’s Lane. The restaurant will include a bar and dedicated dessert counter, alongside its extensive seating area. Diners will be able to enjoy Asian, continental and carvery options, as well as cooked-to-order teppanyaki.
Finally, in demand pop-up bar and street food hub, The Bus Yard, has extended its tenancy until early September. Consequently, the brand will continue to provide visitors to Liverpool One’s Chavasse Park with an of assortment drinks, food and live music entertainment throughout the summer.
The three additions to Liverpool One’s F&B line-up following strong sales performance across hospitality operators at the destination. F&B sales were up nine per cent in May compared with the same month in 2019, while year-to-date F&B sales are 18% ahead of the same period in 2019.
Gabriel Shohet and Eirik Holth, co-founders of Black Sheep Coffee, said: “We are thrilled to be opening in Liverpool One. This will be our very first location in Liverpool and we are super excited.”
Rob Deacon, senior asset manager, Grosvenor, said: “As evidenced by the continued strong performance of our F&B operators, Liverpool One provides a fantastic food, drink and entertainment offer at the heart of the UK’s most sociable city. The addition of Black Sheep Coffee and COSMO, along with the continued presence of The Bus Yard, provides even more choice to cater for the considerable and sustained consumer demand.”
These latest signings add to an increasing series of announcements for Liverpool One, following the recent F&B openings of coffee shop Bean, and Gordon Ramsay’s premium casual dining concept, Bread Streat Kitchen, as well as the opening of vintage retailer, The Vintage Store and the signing of luxury footwear brand, Kick Game.
Metis and Stärka acted for Liverpool One. Savills acted for COSMO, Black Sheep Coffee and The Bus Yard dealt direct.
Meanwhile, Manchester Arndale said the UK’s favourite dessert restaurant brand, Creams Cafe, will be opening a new 2,325 sq ft store at the centre.
The store, which has been let on a 15-year lease, will offer the full Creams Cafe experience with the brand’s menu of desserts – from sundaes and shakes to waffles and crepes – for dine-in, takeaway and delivery.
The letting continues Creams’ expansion which now consists of more than 100 restaurants and outlets across the UK.
Creams’ arrival follows news that Betfred has signed a 10-year lease for a 1,346 sq ft unit within Manchester Arndale. The bookmaker has a well known connection with the North West region, with founder Fred Done opening his first betting shop in Salford in 1967.
As well as Creams Cafe and Betfred, Manchester Arndale is due to welcome another leading multinational F&B brand early next year after it signed a 15-year lease for a new 3,700 sq ft flagship store in the centre.
Manchester Arndale has also agreed a new 10-year lease with jewellery specialists Pandora which has increased its space at the centre. Previously located in Unit L5, Pandora has taken a further 1,600 sq ft of space in the adjacent unit to cater for the strong demand it is seeing from shoppers for its range of products.
Creams Cafe
Alongside the three new arrivals and Pandora’s expansion, Manchester Arndale has also agreed new long term lease renewals with popular F&B brands Pizza Hut and Café Nero both signing for new five-year terms, while footwear brand Dr Martins has also agreed a new five-year lease.
These recent lettings and lease renewals mean that Manchester Arndale has now reached 95% retail occupancy. During that time it has expanded its F&B offering with the arrival of Slim Chickens, Kokoro, Tim Hortons and Pizza Luxe, while continuing to grow its fashion offering by welcoming Debenhams.com, Tommy Hilfiger, Canada Goose, Kurt Geiger, and Kick Game in recent months.
Colin Flinn spokesperson for Manchester Arndale said: “Experiential retail is becoming increasingly important for centres like Manchester Arndale and having a strong F&B offering helps to encourage shoppers to visit in-store as opposed to shopping online. We hope to announce further new lettings and leasing activity across the centre as we seek to maintain Manchester Arndale’s position as a premier retail and leisure destination in the UK.”
Othman Shoukat, managing director for Creams Café, said: “We’re thrilled to be opening in the iconic Manchester Arndale and we’re confident that Creams Cafe will be a very welcomed addition to the shopping mall’s already impressive line-up of food and beverage outlets. With one successful restaurant already operating in Cheetham Hill, we look forward to bringing our delicious desserts to even more of the Manchester community.”
Metis Real Estate and Time Retail Partners are Manchester Arndale’s retained letting agents.