The retail team at Midlands property consultancy FHP has secured a deal which brings another flagship lifestyle brand to Nottingham’s main retail pitch. Aubin & Wills, the sibling of cult ‘college’ brand Jack Wills, has signed a new 10 year lease on a character property at the corner of Bridlesmith Gate and Low Pavement – widely regarded as the most prestige part of Nottingham’s retail and leisure quarter.
When the store opens it will be the only stand alone branch in the Midlands for Aubin & Wills, which has its flagship store in London’s increasingly fashionable Shoreditch and other shops in affluent cities such as Brighton, Manchester and Edinburgh.
Jack Wills has become one of the most aspirational fashion brands in Britain since it was launched in 1999 by Peter Williams and Robert Shaw, styling itself as the university outfitter and appealing to 16-24 year-olds. Aubin & Wills was launched less than four years ago to take designs inspired by British cultural traditions into a more mature 25-35 and beyond market.
Aubin & Wills is taking over the unit formerly occupied by Firetrap and will now commence their signature fit-out before it opens at a date to be announced.
The deal was secured on behalf of the landlord by Ben Tebbutt, Retail Director at FHP. He said: “I’m thrilled to have completed this deal, not just because it brings in another major retail name but also because it provides the perfect answer to some of the questions raised recently about Nottingham’s retail strength.”
“In the past few weeks we’ve seen some wildly misleading suggestions about the level of retail vacancy rates in Nottingham and continuing uncertainty about major retail investment in the city. We know from our own long-established FHP Retail Report that the city’s prime pitches remain in strong demand among major retailers and the level of interest in this unit proves the point.
“As soon as we made the market aware that the unit was available we had serious interest from six major retailers, which translated into three very strong offers. One of them came from Aubin & Wills and as FHP had already handled Jack Wills’ move into Bridlesmith Gate we knew there was an appreciation on both sides of the value of the location.”
“Jack Wills is a very strong aspirational brand which has traded extremely well from Bridlesmith Gate and I have no doubt that Aubin & Wills will do the same. Its decision to come here demonstrates yet again why Nottingham is a top six retail destination in the UK, and the level of interest in the location suggests that we remain a destination of choice for major brands.”
Aubin & Wills will be opening on a site close to Paul Smith’s flagship Willoughby House store, Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Italian restaurant, which was also let by FHP, and the acclaimed Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery.
