Five Guys is the latest operator to sign up for new space at Basingstoke’s Festival Place. The burger brand has signed a 15-year lease on 3,200 sq ft.
This new deal is indicative of Festival Place’s strategic leasing policy, which aims to increase the food and beverage provision to complement the traditional retail offer and position the centre as an all-day destination. Following a successful trading period post-lockdown, recent retail lettings at Festival Place include Skechers and Monsoon Accessorize, while more than 20 new leases/lease renewals have been agreed during 2021.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Festival Place has also taken a strategic decision to grow its ‘grab and go’ casual dining offer with a dedicated zone, which includes national operator Kokoro alongside emerging independent brands such as Asian street food operator Chi.
Festival Place first opened in October 2002 and was acquired by AEW in 2015. It is the highest ranked shopping centre both in Hampshire and outside a major UK city. The centre is located in the heart of Basingstoke, the seventh most affluent town in the UK and the largest in Hampshire. With some 1.7 million residents within a 30-minute drive and 11,500 office workers less than 10-minutes’ walk away, the 1.1 million sq. ft retail and leisure destination features retail, dining and leisure brands such as Apple, Next, SuperDry, TKMaxx, Pandora, Jack Wills, JD Sports and FatFace. It features a spectrum of additional attractions to appeal to the local community including Basingstoke Sports Centre with swimming pool, gym and over 100 studio classes, a 10-screen Vue Cinema, a Flip Out trampoline park, Escape Hunt the world’s leading live escape room and indoor entertainment experience plus office space and a library with author talks and workshops.
Joint agents for Festival Place are Lunson Mitchenall and Cushman & Wakefield. CBRE is the managing agent for the centre.
