Leicester

Key Facts

Total floorspace: 1.5 million sq ft (135,160 sq m)

Missing retailers in central Leicester: Jaeger, Free Spirit, Jones the Bootmaker, Mango, Molton Brown, Bank, Lakeland, O’Neill, Blue Inc, Hotel Chocolat

Top five under-sized retailers in central Leicester: Sainsbury’s (-24,980 sq ft), Marks & Spencer (-24,427 sq ft), Fenwick (21,767 sq ft), Next (-20,132 sq ft), Boots (-19,332 sq ft)

Top centres that share the central Leicester total catchment: Fosse Park (10 per cent), Loughborough (8 per cent), Beaumont Leys 4 per cent), Wigston (3 per cent), Hinckley (3 per cent)

Area of highest rental growth over the past five years: The Shires (3.2 per cent)

Average rental growth over the past five years:0.6 per cent

Latest deals: restaurants Yo! Sushi, Wagamama and Handmade Burger have all signed to the Highcross Quarter scheme

Source: Experian/rental data from Churston Heard

Leicester is cleaning up its act and the opening of the extension to the former Shires shopping centre, which is to be known as Highcross Quarter in future, should put the city back on the retail map.

Work on the£350 million scheme by joint developers Hammerson and Hermes has begun and will bring 1.1 million sq ft (102,190 sq m) of new retail space to Leicester. The retail accommodation will be split over two floors and will comprise 40 units. The site has 80 retail units already.

John Lewis has joined existing anchor tenants Debenhams and House of Fraser, while several high-profile retailers previously missing from Leicester will arrive in the city. Zara and Reiss have both signed for their first Leicester stores and H&M, Republic and New Look have all taken sites in the Highcross scheme.

There has been minimal fallout from the development, with just a few shops, including River Island and Next, vacating the older part of the centre in favour of larger units in the extension.

The developers also have plans for a Covent Garden-style restaurant area and have already attracted Yo! Sushi, Wagamama and the Handmade Burger Company, which are all newcomers to Leicester. Several more potential city debutants are still in talks to take units.

The centre is also in discussions with local independent retail and catering operators to ensure Leicester does not become a clone town. Hammerson director of UK retail leasing Sheila King says: “We are determined to create a local flavour unique to Highcross. Attracting local independent operators is a key part of our strategy.”

Hammerson and Hermes claim Leicester will be catapulted into the top 10 retail rankings when the centre opens, leapfrogging Newcastle and Hull. The catchment population will be 1.5 million on completion, with available retail spend of£5.5 billion.

Jones Lang LaSalle head of retail Nick de-Pons says Zone A rents in Gallowtree Gate, Leicester’s main shopping street, are£215 to£220. He expects prime areas of the Highcross scheme to run at about 10 per cent above that level. “There will be as many new names in the centre as there are relocations from outside,” says de-Pons.

“There are likely to be a few vacancies outside the centre when it opens, but that is the case with any new development and there are still some retailers out there looking for space, so these units are only likely to be empty in the short-term.”

Leicester council’s clean-up of the city centre has also helped boost the Highcross development. The council has pedestrianised key streets, including Market Place, Town Hall Square, High Street and New Walk, to help lure big-name and new retailers to the city.

Historically, Leicester has lost some local shoppers to bigger shopping destinations nearby, such as Nottingham, but the Highcross scheme should help the city compete with its neighbours and hang on to more of its shoppers – at least until the Broadmarsh development in Nottingham is completed in 2010.

“John Lewis will be hugely important,” says Experian director of property consultancy Jonathan De Mello. “At the moment there is a lot of leakage to Nottingham because it has a more premium offer.”

Demographics

Population 3.7 million

Total retail spend£14.55 billion

Weighted shopper population 451,812

Index of population with internet access 99

Cars per household 1.08

Annual gross household income£29,697

Most over-represented occupation Process plant and machine operatives

Most over-represented age band 15-24

Source: Experian