Quadrant, the UK real estate asset management and development company, and Eccleston Capital are launching the first single-purpose venture aimed at repurposing redundant department stores and other large retail units across the UK.
The new venture – Quadrant Repurpose – will identify assets which have the potential for transformation into other uses including residential, hotels and leisure.
It will also identify where department stores can retain a presence in reconfigured space which better meets the needs of shoppers. This could entail bringing in different uses alongside the retail offer.
Quadrant is an experienced commercial property asset and development managers in the UK. Since it was formed in 1997, through working with long-standing global capital partners, it has successfully executed transactions worth in excess of circa €3bn and has developed, refurbished and managed more than 5 million sq ft of space across all property sectors.
Eccleston Capital is the new investment and asset management vehicle created by Mark Phillipson who, through his work with Colliers International and Briant Champion Long, has more than 30 years’ experience as a retail property consultant.
Quadrant’s Founding Partner, Christopher Daniel, said: “It’s clear that huge swathes of redundant retail property urgently need to be repurposed for new uses. If the UK’s high streets and town centres are to be revitalised, this will be an essential part of the process. Our track record of developing and maximising real estate across the retail, office and residential sectors gives us the perspective and expertise to manage the complexities of repurposing. Coupled with Mark’s retail consultancy experience, this is a compelling offer at a time of significant need.” The venture will work with the existing owners of appropriate assets or acquire assets outright.
Eccleston Capital’s Mark Phillipson said: “The UK has more than 1,000 department stores. These represent a huge footprint in urban locations across the country, and a substantial proportion of these stores are facing the prospect of no longer having a retailing future.
“For example, more than 50 former BHS stores still remain vacant three years after the retailer ceased trading. It will not be viable to transform all of the stores facing redundancy, but Quadrant Repurpose can assess the viability and bring together the expertise and capital which the repurposing process demands from planning through to development.”
RPA Perspective The surprise is probably that it took so long for a specialist venture to start up to focus on department stores. With the news that Beales has joined a list that includes Debenhams and Bhs in recent closures, vacant department store space continues to rise.
For the most part these chains had deep problems of their own, beyond the malaise in the UK retail sector. But large anchors, whether in malls or on the high street, are traditionally difficult to fill.
More likely is that vacant space will be entirely repurposed or used as mixed use space on the high street, bringing residential or co-working space to the upper levels and retaining retail or F&B and leisure to the ground floor.
In shopping centres landlords face a more difficult task to divide the space but, frankly, many of these anchors probably serve as much as a hindrance than a benefit to the tenant mix and despite the expense of repurposing the space, shopping centres are probably better off without lame duck anchors.
