National chains lined up for Kro Bar unit
KRO Bar in Manchester’s Piccadilly has closed with the owner blaming a rent hike by new landlord Legal & General.
The bar closed yesterday but for the past 10 years it has been based at the ground floor of One Piccadilly, the 170,000 sq ft office block on the edge of Piccadilly Gardens which was sold by Europa Capital to Legal & General for £75m in the summer.
Legal & General has already lined up two national chains for the unit, while Kro will continue to run two other venues, one in Heaton Moor and the other opposite Manchester University.
Founder Mark Ruby could not be reached by TheBusinessDesk.com but told the Manchester Evening News the company had offered “a substantial amount more” rent but the landlord “wasn’t interested”.
Legal & General said Kro was operating on a short-term lease after a previous trading company went into liquidation a year ago. It plans to divide the unit and has struck a deal with two national chains at “open market rents”.
A spokesman said: “We purchased One Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester in August this year, with a short term lease arrangement in place to the operator of Kro bar. This short term lease was put in place by our predecessors following a previous liquidation of the Kro bar business and allowed owner flexibility in finding the right, sustainable, long term business operators for the space.
“One Piccadilly Gardens is a high profile building within central Manchester and we are progressing a number of positive asset management initiatives to ensure that the scheme responds to the vibrant environment around it – looking to improve the tenant line up and enhance the customer offer. Terms have now been agreed to two popular family-friendly chains at open market rents.”
