AUTUMN 2014 | ISSUE 3 | THE MAGAZINE OF THE COMPLETELY GROUP
Eastern Promise
Hallsville Quarter
Talking development
Dublin IRELAN A whole D
market new place
2015
Bouygues and Queensberry Real Estate
CARLOS DUARTE The man from H&M Completely [Different] Issue 3 FINAL.indb 1
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2 // A Different Message ISSUE #3 | AUTUMN 2014 EDITORIAL Editor: Duncan Lamb
DOM MILLAR
Managing Director The Completely Group
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL 1. The tills are ringing!
ART Creative Director: Ben Parer Design: Andy Fleetwood and Stuart Meades PHOTOGRAPHY Photographers: Paul Harmer, Murray Scott PRODUCTION Production Editor: Mark Bailey Printer: Hardings Print Solutions MECHANICAL INFORMATION Cover Paper: Curious Collection, Extra White 270 gsm Cover Treatment: 4 colour process, Perfect Bound Body Paper: Heaven 42, 170 gsm Fonts: Body text – Avenir Headlines – Aachen, Apps Used: Adobe CC
The country’s economic progress is gauged by a multitude of measures and metrics, but there is no more powerful demonstration of its health than consumer confidence. That confidence equates to people going down the shops and buying stuff. Happily, we are all now doing that in greater numbers. In August, clothing and footwear sales rose at the strongest pace since December 2011. That’s good news for retailers and the landlords to whom they pay the rent. 2. Development is back! Yes, it maybe amounts to baby-steps in many locations but across
PROPERTY LISTING & ADVERTISING SALES Phone: 0844 6626600 Email: sales@completelygroup.com CREATIVE & MARKETING SERVICES Phone: 01483 238920 Email: info@completelygroup.com EVENTS Phone: 01483 238924 Email: events@completelygroup.com ACCOUNTS Phone: 01483 238931 Email: accounts@completelygroup.com
all the property sectors, development is back on the agenda. As demonstrated by the articles in this issue on the Hallsville Quarter and Friars Walk schemes, we’re beginning to see substantial projects
COVER Subject: Carlos Duarte, H&M’s UK and Ireland Country Manager (see p4))
move from the drawing board and into reality. The property business is about renewal of the built environment whether it be by development or refurbishment and it’s great to see growing activity again. 3. It’s time for Completely Retail & Leisure Marketplace again! There was such a buzz at April’s Completely Retail & Leisure Marketplace we’ve been counting the days to September’s event. It’s going to be another tremendous day of deal-making, networking and information gathering. The model has been so well received that we’re now planning a sister event in Ireland in 2015 and you can find more details of that on page 13.
Completely Group, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 9JX
optimistic; Being in good spirits; merry”. Yep, that’s about right.
Phone: 01483 238 920 Email: info@completelygroup.com Web: www.completelygroup.com
Hope you have a great final quarter of 2014.
To keep up-to-date with all our news follow us on Twitter: @completelygrp
I looked up ‘cheerful’ in the dictionary. It said: “Noticeably happy and
VAT no. GB 770788879 Company no.4321497 [different] Autumn 2014
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Contents // 3
04
Carlos Duartes
16
08
Paul Souber
28
4 Cover story: The man from H&M Carlos Duarte talks about the retail giant’s future plans.
8 London’s love affair with shopping Paul Souber looks at the 10m sq ft+ of new shopping development planned for the capital over the next decade.
12 Soapbox is back! Expanding brands pitching their plans.
13 Heading to the emerald isle Details of a new the Completely Retail & Leisure Marketplace to be held in Dublin next year.
Stuart Harris
Richard Fagg
14 Cheat Sheet: drawing up a design brief First in a new series of practical marketing guides.
16 The Queensberry rules We meet the developers behind the new Friars Walk shopping centre development in Newport.
20 Keeping it brief All the news that fits.
22 Don’t get in a pixel The complexities and opportunities of digital publishing.
25 How does your location rate? Matthew Hopkinson of the Local Data Company explains new ways of rating retail locations.
36
Jessica Berney
32
28 Eastern promise One of the world’s biggest development companies is delivering a new regeneration project in London’s east end.
32 The great debate rages Are occupiers getting what they want from industrial developers? The debate raged at the latest Completely Trade, Industrial & Logistics Marketplace
36 A drink with... A rendezvous at a City bar for Schroder’s Head of UK Retail, Jessica Berney, and our very own Dom Millar.
38 Portfolio 39 The Secret Agent Our mole on how Brits find networking a challenge.
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4 // Interview
To us, design, quality and sustainability are not a question of price. [different] Autumn 2014
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Words by Duncan Lamb
For almost 40 years, H&M has been bringing energy and style to the British shopping scene. We spoke to the brand’s UK and Ireland Country Manager, Carlos Duarte, about its plans for the future.
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6 // Interview
When H&M first ventured outside its domestic market of Sweden in 1976, its founder Erling Persson felt Britain was the logical place to set up shop. Since then the growth of the group has been relentless. Today, it trades in 54 countries and in the first half of this year sales across its territories were up 14%. There may be more competition out there than ever before but H&M remains a titan of the retailing scene. Its UK and Ireland operations – with turnover heading towards £1bn – are overseen by Carlos Duarte from London’s Oxford Street offices. Whilst much of the talk in the retail property business is around how the big chains are no longer as acquisitive as they once were, Duarte is emphatic about H&M’s strategy. “H&M has a continued global expansion plan, and here in the UK is no different,” he reports.
“To meet the rapid development of the online market, in particular shopping via smart phones and tablets we must continue to invest in this area and our online expansion is a focus at a local level, as well as globally. “Our digital store is fully mobileadapted and very popular with our customers and we also work closely with the H&M catalogue. I believe we have a great balance of both platforms. We expect more innovations to come, both online and also within our stores.” The recession fostered a climate in clothes retailing of ever more economical pricing but Duarte contends that has always been central to the H&M offer and has meant it will always be competitive. “We offer collections that are wideranging and varied for women, men, teenagers and children, and from quality basics to the latest fashion trends, regardless of age, budget or personal style. “Our business concept, ‘Fashion and quality at the best price’ is fundamental to H&M and the ways in which we work every day, we should always be offering our customers inspiring fashion with unbeatable value for money.” Over the last decade, H&M has led the way in forging partnerships with celebrities and leading designers. David Beckham is perhaps its most famous brand ambassador and this November will see the launch of its collaboration with the brilliant young fashion designer, Alexander Wang.
H&M’s flagship store reopened in 2013 after a comprehensive refurbishment.
“We’re always looking for areas to open new stores or strengthen existing stores with re-fits and extensions.” Before the end of the year, a new flagship store is due to open in Dublin and other recent openings include The Waterside Shopping Centre in Lincoln, The Clarendon Centre in Oxford and Belfast’s Forestside Centre. “Shopping centres and retail parks tend to perform very well for us and our last few openings have included shopping centres across the UK and Ireland,” he adds. In a multi-channel world, the other challenge for Duarte is to make sure its online platform is fully integrated with its physical store presence.
Fashion blogs were buzzing earlier this month when Rihanna was spotted wearing a grey crop top and matching leggings from the new Alexander Wang x H&M line. This sneak peek has only added to growing clamour around the November 6th launch, and demonstrates H&M’s expert handling of these collaborations. Duarte observes: “We believe highfashion design doesn’t have to be a matter of price. From the first collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld in 2004, to our collaboration last year with Isabel Marant, the designers are always
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so unexpected and different from previous years”. Releases of the new collections are intricately stage-managed and last year’s unveiling of the Isabel Marant collection caused a frenzy of interest both in-store and online. A queuing system had to be implemented at stores with shoppers getting colour-coded wristbands that gave them 15 minute slots to buy while the online shop dealt with massive demand. This Christmas will see Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga star in the H&M TV ad campaign. The two superstars will both appear in the commercial, performing a track from their recently released album Cheek to Cheek. Last year, Lady Gaga officially opened H&M’s massive Times Square flagship store in New York, with fans having the chance to meet and shop with their idol. However, while H&M’s deft handling of celebrity models and designer collaborations drive shoppers into the stores, Duarte is clear that its enduring offer is built around style, quality and – of constantly growing importance – sustainability.
H&M is genuinely a global brand, meeting the needs of customers all over the world, and this is what motivates me people and communities. In 2013, the Persson family donated close to £50m for projects focusing on clean water, education and the economic empowerment of women. Duarte has been with the group for more than 20 years and enjoys its close knit community and the challenge his job brings. “It’s a challenging market, and I love to be challenged. I find it so interesting to see how our business concept, fashion and quality at the best price works on all markets, regardless of cultural differences and economic conditions. “H&M is genuinely a global brand, meeting the needs of customers all over the world, and this is what motivates me.”
Duarte: “We’re always looking for new areas to open stores...”
The group is the biggest user of organic cotton in the world and is conscious of its role in the larger retailing picture. It has a stated policy of being willing to pay more for organic cotton because it is grown without chemical pesticides and fertilisers, and contains no genetically modified organisms. Duarte comments: “To us, design, quality and sustainability are not a question of price. Quality is key. We work pro-actively to make sure our products are durable, well-made, functional, safe and free from harmful chemicals. “Sustainability is a huge focus for us as a company, with considerable resources devoted to increasing sustainability at H&M, and working towards being sustainable in every area of the business, on both a global and local scale.” The H&M Conscious Foundation is an independent organisation that is working to drive long-lasting positive change for [different] Autumn 2014
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8 // London Retail
London’s love affair with shopping Imagine waking up tomorrow and finding that seven more Bluewater shopping centres had been built around London. Paul Souber looks at the wave of new development planned for the capital over the next decade. Paul Souber is Head of Central London Retail Agency at Colliers International
Driven by London’s rapid growth and economic dynamism, the capital’s retail scene is massive and rapidly evolving. Now the seemingly exponential level of occupier demand coupled with rising rents is galvanising property developers into action. Colliers International research has identified more than 30 major retail development projects planned in and around greater London over the next few years. This equates to a staggering 10m sq ft of net new retail space: the equivalent of seven Bluewater shopping centres. Not surprisingly, some commentators are asking if there will be enough spending power to make all this new space viable. It is an appropriate moment to look at the health and prospects for London’s retail scene.
the capital’s retail scene is massive and rapidly evolving During the last 10 years the population of London has grown by one million people and it is predicted to grow by a further million over the next decade. This will make London one of the most densely populated capital cities in Europe with a population of more than nine million.
Tourism is a major economic influence with 25m visitors coming to London last year, of which nearly 17m were from overseas. For the first time, London has overtaken Paris as the world’s most visited tourist destination. Last year spending from these visitors topped £4bn in the capital’s shops. In addition, Londoners each spend, on average, around £3,500 annually on comparison retailing. China is a massive influencer of every international business environment and London may be a particular beneficiary following the relaxation of visa requirements for Chinese visitors. Presently around 150,000 Chinese visitors come to the UK each year, but in France this figure is over 1.1m because of greater ease of entry. Proposals to simplify UK entry for Chinese nationals could bring a massive influx of spending into the capital. The Chinese are already the highest spending visitors to London averaging £1,600 of spend per head per visit.
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Some estimates calculate that if the UK was to attract the same numbers of Chinese visitors as France then we could benefit from more than £1.2bn of additional consumer spending annually.
Bikeworldtravel / Shutterstock.
Fierce demand for space in prime pitches such as Bond Street means retailers are taking space elsewhere.
London has overtaken Paris as the world’s most visited tourist destination
The effect of Chinese spending power is not lost on luxury retailers in the West End where over half have Mandarin speaking staff. International retailers are also flocking to London. New entrants in the core West End include ElevenParis, Scotch & Soda, Lavand, Filson/Gant Rugger, Cath Kidston, Hunter, Sunspel and Warehouse, and top European and US retailers like G Star, Chanel, Lulu Lemon, Tiger and J Crew. Against this backdrop, rents on prime shopping streets have continued their upward trajectory. The fierce demand for space at locations such as Regent Street, Bond Street, Oxford Street and Sloane Street has produced a ripple effect where displaced domestic retailers and incomers cannot afford the top rents and are therefore taking space elsewhere. The white hot Bond Street market has seen record premium deals and record rental growth. Watches of Switzerland moved to a 16,000 sq ft flagship store on Regent Street whilst collecting a £10m premium on its former Bond Street store. We advised GINA on the sale of its Bond Street store lease to La Perla for a premium in excess of £5m. GINA relocated to Mount Street and its former Bond Street home was sold to a Hong Kong investor for a sub 2% yield. Zone A rents on Bond Street now stand at over £1,200. The effect of this rising demand and rental levels has seen some luxury retailers migrating to nearby Mount Street, where Grosvenor has transformed what was once a quiet Mayfair thoroughfare into an exclusive blend of luxury fashion, restaurants and galleries. [different] Autumn 2014
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10 // London Retail
And it is not just Mayfair streets like Dover, Albemarle and Conduit that are the beneficiaries of this ‘ripple effect’. Covent Garden, Marylebone, Seven Dials, Spitalfields and Shoreditch are all now attracting high quality retailers who are seeking dynamic retailing environments at more affordable rents. Historically the London shopping scene has focused on its established shopping streets rather than large shopping malls, but this orientation has changed more recently with the advent of Westfield London and Stratford. These two schemes alone produce combined sales of over £2bn with more than 66m visitors annually.
mikecphoto / Shutterstock.com
The scope for London to radically increase its shopping scene is clear and developers have been quick to react. Among the projects that are set to change the retail landscape in London with a significant retail component include: • King’s Cross: a 67-acre development which will include 500,000 sq ft of retail space • Brent Cross: the expansion of London’s original out of town shopping centre to provide a further 600,000 sq ft of retailing • Westfield London: is getting a 550,000 sq ft extension anchored by JLP taking the centre to a mammoth 2.2m sq ft • Battersea Power Station: 1.5m sq ft of retail and leisure, hotels and residential • Earls Court & Olympia: 77-acre development encompassing four new ‘villages’ and 7,500 new homes
developers have been quick to react Planning permission has been granted for a £1bn extension at Westfield London
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Photographer: John Sturrock
London is poised to enter a unique phase of its existence as one of the world’s greatest shopping cities
A recent Alexander McQueen fashion show at King’s Cross which is set to be a major retailing and leisure hub in London
We believe that London can cope with this level of new retail development, as the overall population increase will essentially mean that there will simply be more shoppers. Equally important is that so many of these developments are holistic: building proper infrastructure to enable access to public transport, and provide a true mixed-use approach incorporating housing, offices, leisure and retail. Projects of this magnitude will create the shopping equivalent of their own ‘micro-climates’. The new landscape will certainly pose challenges for the existing owners of large tranches of London shopping but the control and vision that single ownership brings can ensure an orderly delivery and design of new retailing areas. The work of major owners such as Shaftesbury on the Carnaby Estate and the Crown Estate on Regent Street have vividly shown the benefits of single ownership and how retail environments can be shaped for maximum appeal to shoppers. The proponents of the raft of new developments will be equally alive to how this level of control can be used to both woo retailers and attract shoppers. London is poised to enter a unique phase of its existence as one of the world’s greatest shopping cities. Its retail boundaries will broaden and the proliferation of shopping will be profound.
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12 // Soapbox
Date: September 30th
Soapbox is back! Brands are queuing up to pitch their businesses at this autumn’s Completely Retail & Leisure Marketplace. The Soapbox sessions that were so successful at April’s Completely Retail & Leisure Marketplace are back by popular demand. On September 30th, another exciting cross-section of emerging and expanding brands will have just three minutes to communicate their concept and talk about their expansion requirements during the LaSalle Investment Management-sponsored Soapbox sessions. The Completely Group’s Rebecca Sawyer comments: “We had such a positive response to the initial sessions in April that we’ve had a whole fresh crop of brands approaching us to take part. “Pitching your business in three minutes is quite a challenge. Those who took
part last time described it as being like a cross between Speaker’s Corner and Dragons Den!” April’s sessions saw as many as 200 landlords and agents in the Soapbox space with most of the major UK retail destinations represented. Having moved to a new venue at Old Billingsgate Market, the Completely Retail & Leisure Marketplace broke all previous attendance records with more than 1,600 retailers, leisure operators, developers, investors and agents gathering for a day of intensive networking and dealmaking.
Venue: Old Billingsgate Market, London EC3 Who should attend: Retailers/ developers/investors/agents Details: crmarketplace.co.uk Rebecca Sawyer 08430 227333
Among those venturing onto the Soapbox this time are: • Bubbleology • Chiquen • Netto • Pizza Pilgrims • Poncho 8 • Soupe Du Jour • Thai Leisure Group • The Fine Food • Tossed
“The show is the perfect opportunity to reach a lot of the right people in a short space of time and the Soapbox sessions are a key part of that,” Rebecca observes.
• Wok & Go
Brothers, Thom and James Elliot are on a mission to bring authentic Neapolitan pizzas to the UK.
places have achieved in their market.
Following the success of their legendary Pizza Pilgrims van in London’s West End, the duo opened their first restaurant in Dean Street and have just opened their second in Soho at Kingly Street. Thom – pictured on the left with his bro – has just come back to work following the birth of his son, Jackson. The brothers are going to present together and Thom hopes that they can communicate the spirit of what Pizza Pilgrims is about. “I guess what we’re trying to do is bring the same sense of fun and energy to serving pizzas that the new wave of burger
“Mel Brooks famously said that pizza is like sex: even when it’s bad, it’s good. But we’re trying to bring something more to what can be a pretty formulaic and straight-faced eating out experience. “The essentials are that we make great pizzas from the finest, freshest ingredients to fantastic recipes but there’s great fun to be had in the process.” Still somewhat fazed by becoming a father for the first time, Thom is hoping that James will take some of the strain. “If we do it as a double act that means I only have a minute and half to do, doesn’t it? Hopefully I can handle that!”
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13 // Ireland
There are 44,000 retail and wholesale businesses in Ireland. 90% of retail businesses in Ireland are Irish-owned and Irish-operated. 77% of Irish retail businesses are family-owned enterprises. Irish retail businesses employ over 275,000 people – more than any other sector. The Irish retail industry is the biggest consumer of Irish food and drink products, purchasing around €5bn worth each year. The combined Irish retail and wholesale sector pays more than €8.2bn in wages each year. Source: Retail Ireland
Completely Retail & Leisure Marketplace
HEADS TO THE EMERALD ISLE Following the phenomenal success of Completely Retail & Leisure Marketplace, plans are now advanced to create an event focused on Ireland.
Announcing plans to stage the Dublin show in February next year, The Completely Group’s Dom Millar commented: “Ireland has a mature and dynamic retail sector which offers tremendous opportunities for retailers and property providers. “We want to create an event which brings the same vitality and market coverage to the Irish retail scene as Completely Retail & Leisure Marketplace has achieved at our London events. “We also want the Dublin event to encompass the investment market and are speaking to various potential exhibitors and sponsors in this respect.” Retailer interest in Ireland is running at high levels as the economy strengthens post-recession. The Central Statistics Office for Ireland has reported that The Retail Sales Index shows that in June the value of sales rose by 2.5% compared year-on-year. There has now been sales growth in every month this year. In its research paper Retailing in Ireland that was published earlier this year and which
looks at the sector’s prospects through to 2016, Euromonitor commented: “Overall, the performance of retailing in Ireland over the forecast period is expected to be positive with the economic conditions continuing to settle and the recovery of Ireland’s economy gaining strength. Employment levels are also expected to improve during the forecast period, generating higher spending power.” The Ireland 2015 The Completely Retail & Leisure Marketplace event will take place in Dublin on Tuesday, February 24th. Completely Group has agreed a groundbreaking partnership with Aer Lingus which will enable representatives from 100 retailers to fly free to Dublin and back. Dom Millar comments: “As with our events in the UK, our primary focus will be to bring retailers into the event. “So we've teamed up with Aer Lingus and will be offering up to 100 key retail and leisure brands free return travel from the UK to Dublin. “We've sounded out many key brands and there has been a high level of interest in attending.” CBRE is already confirmed as one the event’s core sponsors. Florence Stanley, Deputy MD at CBRE Ireland comments: "We are
delighted to be supporting Completely Retail's inaugural Irish event next year. “A marketplace format event is exactly what we need to introduce new and expanding retail and leisure brands into the Irish property market at this particular point in the cycle when the Irish retail sector is beginning to show clear signs of recovery and consumer confidence is improving.” Chairman of Savills Ireland, Larry Brennan, says that it is very timely for an event of this kind to focus on Ireland. “Ireland’s economic recovery is having a positive knock-on effect on the retail sector. Strong employment growth is positively influencing consumer sentiment – which is at its highest level in seven years, retail sales are continuing on an upward trajectory, and the rate of tenant failures has fallen dramatically. "Consequently, retailers have started to come out of their trenches and there is now strong demand for space on prime high streets and shopping centres – both in Dublin and in the main regional cities. In short, it’s a very exciting time for Ireland’s retail sector.” If you would like to discuss sponsorship opportunities or get more details about attending, please contact Rebecca Sawyer or go to www.crmarketplace.co.uk/ireland
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14 // The Marketing Cheat Sheet
THE MARKETING CHEAT SHEET: #17
A CREATIVE BRIEF Time is precious and getting something done in business can be particularly time consuming if it’s outside your usual scope of work. For property people this can often be in the domain of marketing so we’ve produced a series of ‘cheat sheets’ that you can refer to if you’re facing a particular task and need to get things moving. We hope they’ll be useful and if you’d like any more guidance on the subject, do pick up the phone or drop us an email. To get the ball rolling, we're looking at how to draw up a brief for a creative agency.
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1.
WHAT IS IT AND WHY’S IT IMPORTANT? A creative brief is a document that sets out exactly what you want your creative agency to accomplish in a given project. It defines the scope of the work to be undertaken and ensures that, as the project moves forward, there’s something to check that progress against. Most importantly, it can save you loads of time in future and avoid projects going off track.
2.
WRITE IT DOWN Briefs should be written down. Verbal briefs are often too subjective, can be forgotten, misconstrued or even misheard. A simple, clear and well written brief can avoid lots of misunderstandings further down the line, by enabling everyone to agree on the direction of the project right at the very beginning of the creative process.
3.
WHAT SHOULD BE IN IT? What’s the look and feel of the project you have in mind? What’s the tone of voice that should be used? Who are we speaking to? What’s the message? What’s the mood and focus? Are there other similar projects to align the work to?
4.
IS THAT IT? Well, background information about you and your product or services is always useful to put the project in context. Who are your competitors? Where do you see yourself in the market? What exactly is it you want to achieve and what is the ideal outcome for your project?
5.
SOUNDS LIKE I’M DOING ALL THE WORK! An agency won’t expect you have to a full brief at the outset. They’ll work with you to refine it prior to the project starting. It’s a collaborative process and creating a good brief initially, means that you can get back to your day job and not be pestered by a string of questions that will hold up the project’s progress.
You can download our brief sheet at www.completelygroup.com/creative/brief Once you’ve got a brief agreed with your agency, it’s time to move onto the exciting bit: the creative process, when you start seeing concepts take shape into a brochure, website or whatever the project demands. We’ll be exploring that part of the process in a future edition…
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16 // Interview
THE QUEENSBERRY RULES Queensberry Real Estate may be a relatively new name on the retail property development scene but it’s due to make an impact with the new Friars Walk shopping centre in Newport. We spoke to one of the company’s founders, Stuart Harris. Sometimes good business is all about detailed strategy, and sometimes it’s just about going for it.
And so it was that only days after first thinking that rugby commentator, Eddie Butler, would be an ideal person to narrate a video about the new Friars Walk shopping centre in Newport, Stuart Harris found himself in a West End pub where the ex-Wales international also happened to be having a pint. “I just had to go over to him and explain about the project and ask if he might consider doing the voiceover,” recalls the co-founder of Queensberry Real Estate. “I told him all about the regeneration plans for Newport and what we were doing. What I hadn’t realised was that he was born and brought up in the city: he was immediately enthusiastic.” And so if you go to the Friars Walk website you can watch the video – complete with Eddie Butler commentary – which resulted from that chance encounter.
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YOU’VE GOT TO DESIGN SOMETHING THAT’S GOT THE FLEXIBILITY TO CHANGE…
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18 // Interview
Newport is undergoing a transformation with Friars Walk a key part of this.
At a time when there is not a lot of shopping centre development taking place, the spotlight is shining on the Newport project. Which suits Newport very well as the city is undergoing a transformation and Friars Walk is, in some respects, the final piece of the jigsaw rather than the kick-start. Newport railway station has been the subject of a £22m upgrade. Admiral Insurance has moved to a new 80,000 sq ft office in the city. The University of Wales has opened a £35m campus for 3,000 students close to the Riverfront Theatre & Arts Centre on the banks of the city’s River Usk. While a few miles away is the Celtic Manor Resort – the scene of Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph in 2010.
“They’re saying to the market that they see potential for the retail park and the city centre to co-exist.” Changing the perception of a city can be a long process but Harris reports that once someone sees how much is happening in the city then they quickly realise the potential.
It is a positive picture which has been reinforced by Friars Walk securing Debenhams and Cineworld as anchor tenants and a clutch of other retailers including Next, Topshop, New Look, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Chiquito, Nandos and Prezzo.
“There are a number of people that are coming forward now that would have said six months ago: ‘No we don’t want to look at Newport.’ But whenever we get people down to the site, our conversion rate is exceptionally high because they see it’s happening and what the opportunities are.”
Next’s CEO, Simon Wolfson, came to see for himself and left the city as a convert, commenting: “It is both rare and refreshing to see such well thought-through and ambitious regeneration plans that span commercial, residential, retail, leisure and educational developments”.
Lunson Mitchenall, Strutt & Parker and CBRE are working on the leasing of the remaining shopping and restaurant space ahead of completion which is scheduled to open in the autumn next year.
Just over 60% of the centre’s 300,000 sq ft of space is now let. Stuart Harris reflects: “Next and Topshop have been key for us. They had both closed shops in the centre of Newport a couple of years back and have stores on the retail park outside the city. “But they’ve looked at the opportunity at Friars Walk and decided to come back into the city with stores that are two or three times bigger than those they had previously.
It will be the first project that Queensberry has completed since it was set up four years ago. Although the company may be a relative newcomer to the retail property development scene its founders – Harris, Paul Sargent and Jon Munce – are extensively experienced in the sector. They were
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formerly the management team of Multi Development UK, and delivered projects such as SouthGate in Bath and Victoria Square in Belfast. The company is now appearing on developer shortlists alongside the likes of Land Securities and Lend Lease. As a consequence, Queensberry is now being approached to talk about development situations. Harris is candid about the company’s progress to date: “A number of people have said to us that they are modelling their businesses on ours, which is quite interesting because we feel we’re still evolving. Given the recent economic conditions, a lot of what you’ve had to do is simply react to circumstances and judge where the market’s heading”. Clearly a key part of the company’s success has been the ability to develop positive relationships with local authorities and create schemes that encompass their larger ambitions. Harris observes: “It’s really important for local authorities that - when they pick a party that they want to work with - it’s someone that actually has a track record and has credibility, because that’s important for the operators as well.”
is asset management. It has been appointed by The Crown Estate to manage the CrownGate assets in the city which comprise the Chapel Walk and Friary Way shopping centres. Queensberry has implemented a comprehensive asset management plan to enhance the synergy between the two centres.
LIKE ITS NAMESAKE, QUEENSBERRY IS MAKING IT‘S OWN RULES Harris comments: “A mandate like that is using your developer’s vision to create a strategy for the asset rather than just reacting to it on a week-inweek-out basis. “We’ve looked at zoning various elements of the centres and their surroundings. For example, there’s a beautiful historic theatre in the middle of Chapel Walk which probably has about 300 events a year but nobody has capitalised on how it can complement the retail and leisure around it.
“We’ve let space to good quality local independent retailers. That’s a good example of the way the retail market’s evolving.”
Other schemes are already lined up to follow Friars Walk. In Manchester, Queensberry is transforming the iconic Corn Exchange into a restaurant and leisure scheme, and it is also the preferred developer for a planned retail and leisure regeneration project in Coventry city centre. As a development manager, the company is also working for Merseyside Pension Fund on the revitalisation of the Tunsgate Centre in Guildford. In addition to development and development management, the third strand of the company’s business
“We’ve let space to good quality local independent retailers. That’s a good example of the way the retail market’s evolving. There’s a lot of talk about all the big retailers no longer wanting to take 200 or 300 stores, but the beauty of retail is that it’s so entrepreneurial, there are always new brands looking to build their businesses. Even M&S started with one store.” Like its namesake, Queensberry is making its own rules while looking to explore the market and leverage its skill base. Harris reports: “We’re keen to look at other opportunities where we can use our expertise to help local authorities design and deliver the right retail and leisure schemes for their population. Similarly, we’re keen to work with other owners of shopping centres or historic buildings in transforming their assets in to vibrant shopping or leisure destinations.” [different] Autumn 2014
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20 // Keeping it Brief
OK, we’re about half way through the magazine so here’s the commercial break: a brief update on what we’ve been up to recently at The Completely Group…
Ice Blocks hot in Sacramento The Completely Group has recently wrapped up its first project in California. We were commissioned by Cushman & Wakefield to produce a retail leasing brochure for the Ice Blocks development in Sacramento. The Completely Group’s Glen Smallwood comments: “Ice Blocks is a large retail-led, mixed-use regeneration project on the city’s historic R Street. “We created a brand and a look and feel to draw in the anchor tenants that would guarantee the success of this exciting development. The client and the developers are delighted with the results and we hope the project will be the first of many in the States.”
WE’RE ON THE EDGE Moat Homes has commissioned Completely to create a brochure and microsite for The Edge, its 42-home development in Harlow, Essex. The creative approach echoes the contemporary style of the new homes in the scheme while the brochure employs innovative print finishes to further convey the quality commitment of the development.
New Bankside Mix Following a rigorous research, strategy and positioning process, The Completely Group has embarked on developing a brand for M&G Real Estate’s Bankside Mix estate on London’s Southbank. Glen Smallwood reports: “Our work has focused on targeting consumers that would use the shops, bars and restaurants at different times throughout the day and into the evening. “Our creative idea with catchline ‘All day, every day’ is central to the design and structure of the lettings brochure and the consumer-facing website that we’ve produced.” See www.banksidemix.co.uk for more details.
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// 21
Going interactive CBRE challenged The Completely Group to turn the printed Capital Markets brochure produced by their in-house team into an interactive document that could be presented on tablets and PCs. Ben Parer reports: “We assessed all the information and designed a navigation solution that allows the viewer to jump directly to relevant content and avoid having to browse the document in a linear fashion. We also devised a Vcard download function, to make grabbing contact details quick and easy. “The document is updated regularly and is stored in The Cloud so that the team members can download the document at anytime from anywhere ensuring they always have consistent, accurate and up-to-date details at their fingertips.”
COMPLETELY PAIR FINISH COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED & WET
Completely’s Dom Millar and Ben Parer were among the weather-beaten but happy thousands who completed the Prudential Ride London 100-mile challenge. The tail end of Hurricane Bertha lashed the cyclists as they battled around the course with the conditions becoming so bad that the race was cut short. Ben Parer reports: “Two of the steeper hills were omitted for safety reasons and both Dom and I suffered punctures. It was a tough but enjoyable ride and everyone finished pretty exhausted”. Dom just pipped Ben to the post with a very respectable finish time of 4 hours 31 minutes. By the time you read this, the duo will have been fighting for bragging rights once again on the Completely Bike Ride. If you see them, make sure to ask who came out on top…
WE’RE ON THE EDGE Moat Homes has commissioned Completely to create a brochure and microsite for The Edge, its 42-home development in Harlow, Essex. The creative approach echoes the contemporary style of the new homes in the scheme while the brochure employs innovative print finishes to further convey the quality commitment of the development.
SAVE THE DATES COMPLETELY RETAIL & LEISURE MARKETPLACE
30.09.2014 LONDON
24.02.2014 DUBLIN
28.04.2015 LONDON
29.09.2015 LONDON
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22 // The Digital Route?
GOING DOWN THE DIGITAL ROUTE?
Words: Ben Parer
Don’t know your app from your elbow? Digital publishing and the platforms it works on are revolutionising property marketing. Here we take a walk through the main options for taking your marketing down the digital route.
Why choose digital? There are many reasons why you would choose a digital platform over printing. While nothing will replace the tactile impact of a printed product (check out the beautiful magazine you’re holding) there are ways to create that sense of surprise and wonderment through the digital medium. ‘Going digital’ also delivers some clear benefits which include: ■■ Reduced production and delivery time ■■ Flexible pricing solutions ■■ More engaging, detailed, evolving and enhanced content ■■ Social integration, interactivity and an immersive customisable experience ■■ Easy distribution: publish ‘everywhere’ ■■ Analysis of interaction
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// 23
Deciding what to CREATE
After defining your target audience, budget and strategy the next task is to decide on your audience touchpoints. Here are some of the digital offerings and their various pros and cons: Websites
ibook
Still the digital ‘Godfather’ of marketing.
Deciding to produce a website to complement or as the main delivery platform requires it to work in a multi-device distribution society. That means one thing – responsive design. Good design constructed in a responsive manner is at the heart of universal accessibility and means the same content works on your phone, laptop, desktop or tablet device whether you’re looking at it standing up, sideways or hanging upside down on a bungee rope. It’s a platform with endless possibilities but remember that your audience needs a (good) internet connection…
Desktop
Adobe Acrobat’s ubiquitous product is widely used and for a reason. It’s adaptable, can deliver scalable levels of quality versus document size, vectors and fonts render perfectly and it is widely supported across platforms and devices. It can provide rather simple interactivity, like page jumps or bookmarks, image swaps, buttons and work with video. Other dimensions of interactivity are possible but cracking Adobe’s use of javascript requires specific expertise.
Laptop
Tablet
Phablet
Apple’s iBook technology is unsurprisingly built with some pretty funky features that are relatively easy to implement and are a joy to use encouraging playfulness and interactivity. The compatibility with standard technologies like HTML5, Javascript and CSS3 means generating bespoke whizzy widgets should be fairly straightforward for web developers and assets can even be leveraged if you’re building a website as well - if you develop it in the right way for the website then you can also use it on an iBook. The obvious drawback for iBooks is that they are restricted to the Apple environment and won’t work across other platforms.
Smart Phone
Which platform are you on? Whatever you create it’s likely that your audience will be viewing it either on their preferred device or on the one that is currently available. In the personal digital framework we have four main viewing devices: desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smart phones with the hybrid ‘phablets’ thrown in for good measure. You’re likely to have to deliver to all these devices while taking into consideration all manner of other technical aspects from Google’s kit kat browser quirks to Acrobat’s security flags.
apps Apps designed for a specific purpose and platform, are a pleasure to work with and simple for a user to understand. The best Apps allow you to take advantage of a phone’s inbuilt capabilities like geo-location and accelerometers to deliver an enhanced user experience. Apps were all the rage not so long ago, but recently the passion for them has waned somewhat. This is because you tend to have to spend as much if not more budget on maintaining the app’s system software upgrades. You also have to develop complete apps not just for multi platforms, but also take into consideration each system or phone version of that platform. For example, iPhone 4, 4S, 5 and 5S would all require bespoke versions. Apps face the added hurdle of requiring approval through the various proprietary app stores which are then required for distribution, this adds to time and cost.
ions Presentat
web apps Sitting somewhere in-between a website and an app are web apps. These are effectively websites designed using technology like HTML5, Javascript and CSS3. They can work though all of the various browsers and can also be ported to all the various devices using software like Adobe’s PhoneGap. It’s not quite as simple as a one size fits all approach to the design as certain attributes require a little consideration, but the development and maintenance cost is minimised. A good example of a web app is Amazon’s where the website and the app on your phone operate in exactly the same manner.
Pitching and presenting are a key part of business and while it’s possible to get reasonably adept with platforms such as Powerpoint or Keynote, it’s too crucial a part of business development and marketing to not involve your creative agency at some point. If not, then thinking about ePresentations is not a bad alternative. You could upload your pdf to Issuu for distribution, with its enhanced user experience. If you fancy trying something a little more immersive and you’re not afraid to tackle a little bit of technology then Prezi might be for you. You’ll need an internet connection and it will need to be loaded locally before beginning, but can stand apart from the PowerPoint crowd.
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24 // The Digital Route?
Take an integrated approach When planning your marketing, great savings can be made by integrating content and delivering complementary products. Making them easy to update though Content Management Systems (CMS) with information stored in a single database allows content to be fresh and means you don’t run the risk of having compliance issues or the boredom that stems from having to update the same content multiple times. You don’t have to recreate all the content either, think about integrating other current web content into your deliverables using XML feeds. Dynamically generated pdfs delivered from cloud-based websites, updated on a CMS used by multi-users and viewed on devices like iPads using GoodReader with content seamlessly linked to a website create a gratifying user experience. More importantly it’s excellent to apply to a large portfolio and will save you lugging around an armful of paper documents.
Enhanced content No matter what you create, content is king. Digital content enables you to use a variety of engaging content that ranges from immersive and exciting to the practical and helpful. Listed below are some of the content that can be utilised: ■■ Video ■■ Advanced images ■■ Galleries ■■ Animation ■■ Multi-page ■■ Data capture ■■ HTML 5 ■■ Widgets ■■ Music ■■ Accelerometer ■■ Geo-location ■■ Augmented reality
Analysis One of the distinct advantages of digital is its ability to easily generate analytics including: ■■ Unique traffic ■■ Analysis of interaction ■■ Geo-location
CLOUD BASED DELIVERY SYSTEM
■■ Device information ■■ Traffic sources ■■ Viewing duration ■■ Download numbers ■■ Pageviews ■■ Referral sources
Advantages ■■ Analysis of interaction
Database with CMS
■■ Flexible pricing ■■ Scalability without scalable costs ■■ Evolve content ■■ Engaging interactivity ■■ More detail ■■ Social media integration ■■ Easy distribution ■■ Customised experience ■■ Publish everywhere
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Manifesto // 25
Matthew Hopkinson of the Local Data Company looks at a new way of rating retail and leisure locations throughout the UK What makes a place successful as a retail and leisure destination? As consumers, we tend to be rather fickle and what attracts us to a place one week may, in due course,fall out of our favour. So is our choice driven by what a place looks like, feels and offers? Is it the cost to get there and stay there, or the other people who frequent it? Over the years, various ‘blackbox’ data models have
been developed to try and evaluate the comparative strengths of locations. They continue to turn out stats as they have done for many years but I believe that many of these models are no longer fit for purpose and do not take account of the new data and technologies available to make them smarter. Together with our partners (academic and commercial), we have been working
to deliver location analysis which is more informed, more relevant and, most importantly, time sensitive to the changes taking place. We have partnered with a number of the UK’s leading universities to create innovative and dynamic ways to look at the significant changes happening within the retail and leisure sectors and the places they operate from. Continues [different] Autumn 2014
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26 // Manifesto
So where do you start in assessing a particular retailing location? Locations, in our view, are determined by their economic wealth and market size. This is essentially the ratio of people to places and what spending power and propensity they have. When looking at modern towns and cities you need to look beyond the city walls to the standalone supermarkets, the retail/shopping parks, the leisure parks and the small neighbourhood locations.
The key attributes of these locations lie in the retail occupancy and vacancy profiles along with the change over time. Recently we updated a location ‘health’ model that was developed in partnership with Morgan Stanley. This analyses, grades and scores 3,000 High Streets (town centres), shopping centres and retail/leisure/shopping parks, and builds on the diversity index that we developed in partnership with the Oxford Institute of Retail Management in 2013.
Breakdown of top 3,000 UK locations by retail environment type (Source: Local Data Company)
4.4 %
9.1%
24.3%
23.7%
38.4%
Large High Street
Medium High Street
Small High Street
Shopping Centres
Retail Parks
London’s West End is awarded a top score of +158 according to the ‘health’ model analyses.
Matthew Hopkinson is a Director of the Local Data Company.
IR Stone / Shutterstock.com
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// 27
Analysis of the 7 key attributes adjacent derives a score for each of the 3,000 locations. The range of these scores currently goes from -30 through to +158; the latter of which is the rating for London’s West End. In addition to the location score, an index score of between 1 (poor) to 9 (very good) is then also given to every small, medium and large High Street, shopping centre and retail/ leisure park in that location. The model is then rolled back 12 months to provide an indicator of 12-month change which is designated as either ‘improving’, ‘weakening’ or ‘stable’.
There are 7 key attributes that the ‘health’ model analyses and scores. These attributes include: The population ratio to the total number of retail and leisure units (floorspace following shortly) The vacancy rate compared to the location type average The persistence of vacancy (units vacant for more than a year) The presence of 27 key retailers (e.g. Next, M&S, H&M) and whether they have opened or closed in the location within the last 24 months The presence of a department store (e.g. John Lewis, Debenhams, Fenwicks) The presence of charity shops as a percentage of the total offer A dwell time indicator based on the percentage offering of leisure uses (eg. restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, tea rooms, pubs and bars)
Location is as important as it ever used to be
This enables occupiers, landlords, investors and local authorities to benchmark their locations and, in the case of retailers, look at the correlation with sales performance. By way of example if you look at the large high street locations (400+ units) then the range is varied with Manchester, Edinburgh, York , Exeter and Glasgow being examples of cities with an index score of 7 (strong) and scores ranging from +158 to +31. In contrast, Bolton, Paisley, Walsall, Preston, Great Yarmouth, Bradford, Watford and Grantham are examples of an index rating of 1 (very weak) with a range in scores from -21 to -8. When you then apply these location scores to retailer portfolios, it can create a very interesting guide to current and future performance (with the caveat that precise performance is always unique to a retailer based on their business type and the costs of occupation in a given location). Similarly, application of the scores can provide a portfolio-wide analysis which shows a retailer how many of its locations are improving, weakening or stable.
Locations, in our view, are determined by their economic wealth and market size Location is as important as it ever used to be but what is clear is that there are more competing physical locations than ever and that’s before accounting for the 13% of retail sales that now take place online. Bricks and mortar locations remain a key component to almost every retail business and the best platform from which to engage, excite and extract sales from customers. And, of course, for leisure operators - whose offer invariably cannot be replicated online – getting the physical location of operations right is of paramount importance Whilst lease lengths have come down to 10-15 years from 25 years it is still a very expensive decision to open or close a store. Against that backdrop, to guide business strategy it is essential to leverage all the data, technology and innovation that is available. For more information: www.localdatacompany.com [different] Autumn 2014
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28 // Interview
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One of the world’s biggest development companies is delivering a massive new regeneration project in the east end of London which will include more than 350,000 sq ft of shopping and leisure facilities. We spoke to the man in charge of the project.
Continues
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30 // Interview
Bouygues’ Development Director of London and South East, Richard Fagg
Bouygues is not a company that blows its own trumpet. Many people in the property business might even struggle to pronounce its name correctly (in case you were wondering, ‘Bweeg’ is pretty close).
Forming part of the £3.7bn Canning Town and Custom House Regeneration Programme, Hallsville Quarter is being delivered in five phases across a 15-acre site that sits to the north and south of the A13 flyover.
The business model of the French giant is to enter new territories relatively quietly through its construction arm – the heart of the business – and then branch into direct development once it has a grip of the local market. It is an approach which it is rolling out across the 82 countries which generate its Euros 33bn+ turnover
The first phase – 179 residential units of private and affordable housing with a 75,000 sq ft Morrisons is scheduled for delivery next year and will be followed by more than 350,000 sq ft of shopping and leisure, and a further 900 homes split between private ownership, private rented and affordable housing.
The company entered the UK construction market in 1997 and has increased its presence through organic growth and acquisition. It may not be a ‘household name’ in the UK, but its business in this country now has an annual turnover of around £800m, and it gets involved in very high quality projects.
The man overseeing the project is Richard Fagg, Bouygues’ Development Director of London and South East.
The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, The Home Office building in Whitehall, the Aardman Animations HQ in Bristol and the Central Middlesex Hospital in Park Royal demonstrate the diversity of the company’s construction activities. However, it is in direct development and regeneration that Bouygues Development is now making its mark both in London and across the UK. Its work in this area includes mixed-use schemes, private residential, the PRS sector (which it recognised as an important opportunity long before it became fashionable) and student accommodation, which it develops under its Uliving brand. Its flagship development is Hallsville Quarter – a new £600m heart for London’s Canning Town encompassing homes, retail and leisure.
It’s clear that people will want to settle here
“Bouygues is very focused on enhancing the overall setting of the development and integrating fully with the existing community”
Having cut his teeth working on BUPA’s portfolio and then various large-scale healthcare development projects, he joined Bouygues Development six years ago just as the company was selected by the London Borough of Newham as development partner for its wider Canning Town and Custom House Regeneration project.
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// 31 “I joined in the May, completed my induction and then went straight to work on the project,” he recalls. It took around four years to secure preferred bidder status for Hallsville Quarter and obtain the necessary planning consents, finalise development agreements and undertake local consultation but the project is now motoring full steam ahead and Fagg’s excitement is clear. “There wasn’t really a heart to the area prior to the project. It has fantastic transport infrastructure and great potential but the residential, shopping and leisure provision just wasn’t up to what people need.
The project is motoring full steam ahead and Fagg’s excitement is clear
“At the moment, Canning Town experiences 97% ‘leakage’ of its shopping spend to other locations which demonstrates its potential.”
Although the giant Westfield shopping centre is also just a couple of tube stops away, Fagg is realistic about the retailing that they are trying to create.
The demographics would certainly seem to indicate an area with potential.
“We are not trying to compete with Westfield, but people need good quality retailing and places to eat nearby: you can’t expect them to jump on the tube every time they want to shop or have something to eat.
The rate of population growth within the Hallsville Quarter area is twice the Greater London average, and the catchment is expected to rise to around 450,000 people by 2024. Household income and retail spend are already above the national average and there is a very high proportion of young ‘pre-family’ people in the area.
“That’s what we are aiming to provide: a range of very good quality retailing and other amenities which will serve the growing population of Canning Town.” The next phase of retailing will comprise 62,000 sq ft of shopping space and is being marketed by GVA ahead of completion in 2017. This phase of development will also include a 196-bed Accor hotel and 349 residential units. Fagg reports: “The momentum of the scheme will steadily build as the phases are completed. The Morrisons opening will be a major milestone and this will begin to change people’s shopping habits and start strengthening the area’s retail credentials.” Bouygues is very focused on enhancing the overall setting of the development and integrating it fully with the existing community. Fagg’s family originally hails from the East End and he is passionate about this dimension of the project. During the course of the last six years he has got to know the community. He has become a governor of two local schools and is championing a wider notion of sustainable development.
Bouygues’ vision for the Canning Town Regeneration Programme
The latter factor is clearly an effect of young people looking to find somewhere in the capital which is affordable to live but also has good transport links. Canning Town is on the Jubilee Line just one stop away from Canary Wharf and a 25-minute journey to Green Park. There is also a DLR station which offers a six-minute connection to London City Airport. In 2018, it will be a five-minute walk from Hallsville Quarter to the new Crossrail station at Customs House. “The transport facilities are sensational,” Fagg observes, “It’s clear that people will want to settle here and it’s up to us to provide the homes and the shopping and leisure amenities that they need.”
He reflects: “Sustainable development isn’t just about green buildings and construction excellence; it’s about creating local employment and involving the local community with what you’re doing. I get excited about that aspect of the scheme. “What we are trying to create is a new Canning Town and that should involve everyone from every part of the community.” In the wider context of Bouygues Development’s presence, the Hallsville Quarter scheme looks set to provide the company with impeccable credentials as they continue with other major regeneration projects including Queens Park, Bedford Town Centre and Addlestone. Bouygues’ ability to blend construction expertise with commercial nous and committed stakeholder consultation means that it is likely to be contending for many more development opportunities in the near future. And who knows: maybe soon everyone will be able to pronounce the name. [different] Autumn 2014
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32 // Marketplace
THE GREAT DEBATE RAGES AT COMPLETELY TRADE, INDUSTRIAL AND LOGISTICS
OCCUPIERS, DEVELOPERS, INVESTORS AND AGENTS FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE INDUSTRIAL, TRADE COUNTER AND LOGISTICS SECTORS GATHERED AT OLD SPITALFIELDS MARKET FOR THE SECOND COMPLETELY TRADE, INDUSTRIAL & LOGISTIC MARKETPLACE ON JUNE 17TH AND THE CONVERSATION GOT LIVELY. Photography by Murray Scott
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// 33
Attendance at the Marketplace was up 50% on the previous year and the occasion was given extra spice by The Great Debate – a forum for occupiers and developers to discuss the question “Are developers addressing the modern needs of occupiers?”. Facilitated by Noella Pio Kivlehan, Nick Whitten and Emily Wright from Estates Gazette, the three sessions gave an opportunity for a forthright exchange of views.
IT SOON BECAME CLEAR THAT OCCUPIERS ARE CONCERNED BY THE LACK OF SUPPLY IN THE MARKET
Panellists included Travis Perkins Property Director, Philip Joyce; Kevin Sey of DHL; Nigel Harris from John Lewis; Verdion CEO, Mike Hughes; Chancerygate’s Alastair King; Paul Till from LaSalle Investment Management; and Gareth Osborn of SEGRO. It soon became clear that occupiers are concerned by the lack of supply in the market. With DHL’s Kevin Sey observing: “There has been no spec development for the past three or four years. The biggest concern we have got is there are very few new large warehouses being built ready for take-up. That will give us a challenge”. Developers are clearly now moving to make up the shortfall and Alastair King of Chancerygate revealed they were now currently progressing in excess of 300,000 sq ft of speculative multi-let development and have plans to increase this substantially in 2015. Continues
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34 // Marketplace
However, Verdion’s Mike Hughes cautioned that the development sector must ensure that it is building space that occupiers actually demand. He pointed to the gap between the type of properties occupiers are now demanding, and those that institutions are prepared to fund. “I don’t think there’s quite enough flexibility in meeting the needs of the occupiers,” he told the audience.
THE DEVELOPMENT SECTOR MUST ENSURE THAT IT IS BUILDING SPACE THAT OCCUPIERS ACTUALLY DEMAND.
“Let’s not get too hung up on the fundamentals being of institutional standard. Does it work, does it have long-term value? If it does, then do it.” Paul Till, head of national business space at LaSalle Investment Management, said occupier demand has simply not been high enough to warrant speculative development in most areas. But he added: “Over the last five to 10 years, the logistics business has changed beyond recognition. Retailers and distribution companies have a habit of changing their business plan and philosophy. “Now the trend is towards larger regional distribution centres and small hubs. What’s to say that won’t change?” Segro’s Gareth Osborn echoed this theme: “A lot of last-mile delivery operators still haven’t worked out the optimum business model. We don’t know what they might be doing in five to 10 years’ time. “Will cross-docked facilities be obsolete in five to 10 years? We’re in a period of transition.” The Q&A sessions that followed each panel discussion further revealed the diversity of opinions in the marketplace and painted a picture of a sector which is very much in transition.
IT’S GREAT TO SEE HOW THE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY WORLD HAS EMBRACED THE EVENT.
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// 35
The Completely Group’s Simon Millar comments: “It’s great to see how the industrial property world has embraced the event. “The Marketplace is delivering on its aim of connecting occupiers with those that facilitate the leasing, funding, construction or administration of trade counter, industrial and logistics property throughout the UK.
100%
Attendees feel there is a need for an event like ours in the Sheds market
70%
Attendees would like to see the event kept ‘consultant free’
78%
Attendees helped to facilitate deals
“We’re now planning for the 2015 event and are looking forward to an even more vibrant Marketplace.” To discuss sponsorship opportunities or attendance, please contact Simon Millar (sm@completelygroup.com).
Companies represented at this year’s show included: Access Self Storage
Glenny
Sainsbury’s Property Investments
Amibt Trade Centres
Grafton Group Plc
Sally Beauty
Aviva Investors
Graftongate
Screwfix
Bartlett Property
GVA
SEGRO
Big Yellow Self Storage Company Ltd
Hirestation
Shurgard Self Storage
BOC
HSS Hire
SIG Trading
CBRE Global Investors
IPIF
St Mowden
Chancerygate
Jansons Property
Stephens Maguire
Colliers International
John Lewis
Stripe Street
Cushman & Wakefield
Kier Property
Toolstation
DB Schenker
Knight Frank
Topps Tiles
DHL
LsSalle Investment Management
Travis Perkins
DTZ
Legal & General / Fix UK
USS IM
Dunmoore
Legal & General
Verdion
Evolve
Lok ‘n’ Store
Waitrose Property
F&C Reit
Make It Stoke On Trent & Staffordshire
Wanis
F1 Autocentres
Principled Offsite Logistics
WIincanton
Fairhurst Estates
Rockspring
General All-Purpose Plastics
Safestore
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36 // A Drink with
A DRINK WITH…
JESSICA BERNEY Jessica Berney took over as Head of UK Retail at Schroders Property Investment Management in January. Our man-atthe-bar, Dom Millar, caught up with her at The Folly in the heart of the City of London to talk investment, personal style and sailing…
Jessica and Dom met for a drink at The Folly bar and restaurant in the Square Mile. Open for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and drinks, The Folly with its botanically inspired interiors, offers quirky cocktails and a wide selection of wines alongside a carefully crafted seasonal menu. There’s music and a late license until the early hours on Thursday and Friday which make The Folly a perfect place to start and end your party.
The Folly 41 Gracechurch Street London EC3V 0BT 0845 468 0102 thefollybar.co.uk
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// 37
Hi Jessica, what will you have? I have a wine allergy sadly, so I’m a gin & tonic girl at lunch, and generally continue the clear spirits theme in the evening if required!
You took over as Head of UK Retail at Schroders in January. How’s the year been going? It’s been a busy year. There are just three of us in the team: Harry Pickering and Henry Cartwright work with me across the Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust and Schroder UK Property Fund (SPF) which total around £530m of retail assets. Our business model at Schroders is to be sector-split, in a ‘cradle to grave’ style, so we work across both the investment and asset management side in our respective sector specialisms – all of which have been fortunately very active this year. The verdict is ‘so far so good’ and we’re looking forward to it continuing to the end of the year.
We’re in a more positive economic environment. What are your goals for the retail holdings? Taking advantage of the economy to succeed in the business plans for the ‘trickier’ assets. Our goal is to work the assets we have under management hard with a clear focus on asset management and to complete the individual business plans.
I haven’t worn an indie rock T to an investment committee for a while!
Have you got your ‘buying boots’ on and, if so, what appeals? We’ve been very acquisitive on the investment side having raised an additional £100m of equity for SREIT, of which £40m has been drawn down so far. We’ve been buying higher yielding assets in larger lot sizes with good property fundamentals and the potential to create further value from driving rents, lease lengths, improving tenant mix and/or development value. SPF is an open-ended structure and is experiencing strong monthly inflows of primary subscriptions which we have been actively deploying. Investments have included the Arndale Centre in Headingley, the City Tower mixed-use scheme in Manchester and the Meadows Retail Park in Chelmsford. Lemon Quay in Truro and Spalding Retail Park were acquired at the end of last year.
Do you think a balance has now been reached between online retailing and physical stores? There will be continual structural change with new technologies, new retailer entrants, changing demographics, changing levels of discretionary spend, and retailers developing their offer and strategies but I do think that people enjoy shopping for the experience and ‘hobby’ aspect which can’t be replaced by online channels.
Where do you like to shop? I’m a horrid shopper which isn’t a great advert for a retail specialist! I stick to my staples: Kooples, All Saints, and Reiss.
Are there some favourite designers that feature in the Berney wardrobe? Having been informed that my wardrobe epitomises what not to wear at Schroders, even on dress-down days… I have not changed my less than corporate look, which reminds me, I haven’t worn an indie rock T to an investment committee for a while!
Rumour has it you’re often to be found on the open water? My father strapped me into a child’s seat bolted to the bulkhead and raced me across the North Sea multiple times before I reached my teens, so there was no avoiding it and luckily I still love sailing! I race National 18 and Musto Skiff dinghies on the East Coast, but also do a lot of off-shore sailing on our family Sigma 41.
Snack time: what do you fancy? Salted peanuts every time.
What’s the best – and worst – thing about your job? The best is variety in my role from retail asset management to fund level growth strategies, and working with a proactive ‘can do’ team. The worst: the time it takes to get certain deals over the line, not for lack of trying on our part!
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38 //
Ultimately, at The Completely Group we hope that our creative work speaks for itself. We also hope you’ll come to our events, and check out our listing platforms. In the meantime, here’s a snapshot of some work we’ve done. You can see more on our website (www.completelygroup.com) in the Portfolio section.
Hallsville Quarter brochure, Bouygues Development
Hill View, Mantle Developments
Bankside Mix identity & brochure, M&G Real Estate
CBRE Capital Markets iPDF
The Edge brochure, Moat Homes
Ice Blocks, Sacramento, brochure, C&W USA
The Cube, Birmingham leasing brochure, GVA
AXA Investment Management retail portfolio
Mason & Partners website
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The Secret Agent // 39
PLEASED TO MEET YOU?
For anonymity and the avoidance of a P45, the identity of the Secret Agent must remain hidden. We join our mole in the London property agency world as they consider the skills of networking… The autumn brings a clutch of big property events that call on the skill-set which we British find most challenging: networking. Completely Retail & Leisure Marketplace, the BCSC conference, Expo Real, MIPIM London, MAPIC and many more: they come thick and fast and will only relent when the festive season is upon us. Plonk your average Brit in a room full of strangers and they’ll freeze. We’re just not culturally suited to mixing. Maybe it’s something to do with being an island race. It’s quite amazing how often if you introduce yourself to a stranger with a ‘Hello, I’m Jack/ Jill from the Wonderful Company’ all you’ll get in response is a ‘Hello’ and a handshake. The standard conversational openings get us nowhere. Nobody actually answers the question ‘How are you?’. If you want a laugh, spend a week responding truthfully and in detail to that question and watch people squirm.
change it to ‘Necessary to meet you’. Anyway once we’ve got over the strange hurdles of national etiquette, we need to remember that networking is about information exchange. It’s about having an idea of what you want to communicate in a business environment. It doesn’t mean you have to come over as a timeshare salesman but it also means you shouldn’t stand there talking exclusively about your summer holidays/last night’s match. At some point you need to get to the point. I’m a bit evangelical about this at the moment because we had a big client drinks party before the summer break. I walked in shortly after it started and it looked like a cross between a school disco and a doctor’s waiting room.
‘How do you do?’ is just plain weird. How do I ‘do’ what?
On one side of the room was a clutch of our own people huddled together for social warmth. In the middle, a few ‘evolved’ people had actually found clients to talk to. But by far the worst of it was about a dozen individuals who were stood around on their own, nursing their drinks and looking unwanted.
The strangest of all – especially in a business context – is ‘Pleased to meet you’. It’s rarely, if ever, true. Maybe we should
These were people who pay money for our services and we’d invited them to this social Siberia! Arses were kicked on
the spot, and now networking training has been implemented across the firm. I’m not sure this is something we should have to teach people, but it seems that’s the way it is. Thankfully events like the Completely Group’s Marketplace events, and others focus on oneto-one networking and getting business done face-to-face and provide great environments to engage with contacts old and new. I love British understatement, irony and all the other characteristics of our self-deprecating nation but hey people, we’re here to do business! So let’s get stuck into the networking. Just promise you won’t say ‘Pleased to meet you’…
Plonk your average Brit in a room full of strangers and they’ll freeze
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Completely_Retail_Advert_Layout 1 09/09/2014 09:33 Page 1
e new.sites@sainsburys.co.uk w www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/convenience
Our convenience business is going from strength to strength.
Our latest convenience shops
We now run over 650 shops, employ around 15,000 people and have exciting, ambitious plans to continue growing in the future. Our Locals now account for 27% of the UK’s convenience market growth, with sales of £1.8 billion and year-on-year growth of 19%. We are opening about two convenience stores every week and serve six million customers each week.
We’re always looking for new sites. To find out more come and meet our convenience team on Tuesday 30th September and hear about our future plans and requirements. Our award-winning team will be on Stand 42 from 11am – 12pm with samples of our Taste the Difference products. Completely [Different] Issue 3 FINAL.indb 40
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