Leading property consultancy CBRE has announced it has secured Costa as the latest tenant at the £107 million Marischal Square development in Aberdeen on behalf of Muse Developments.
Recognised as the fastest growing coffee shop business in the UK, Costa has taken a unit on the ground level extending to 2,300 sq ft on a new 15 year lease. The unit will sit adjacent to Prezzo and benefits from impressive views across the newly part-pedestrianised Broad Street and over to Marischal Collage which is home to Aberdeen City Council. The agreement will bring new jobs to the city centre regeneration site and will be the company’s fifth site in Aberdeen. With 2,000 stores in the UK and over 1,100 stores in 30 countries worldwide, Costa has an aggressive growth strategy and it is believed the move will bring a new coffee concept to the city centre.
In addition to Prezzo, Costa will join All Bar One, Marriott International and iconic north-east businesses Aberdeen Journals and Mackie’s at Marischal Square, which is on schedule to be completed later this summer.
Caroline Midgley, acquisition manager at Costa Coffee, said: “We’re really excited to be opening the new store in the Marischal Square development in Aberdeen, bringing approximately ten new jobs to the area. As with all of our openings, we’re looking forward to being an active part of the community and working with the surrounding businesses in the development.”
Kevin Sims, head of the Retail team at CBRE Scotland, added: “We are delighted to have secured another pre-let in the form of Costa Coffee for Marischal Square. We believe Costa will complement the existing line-up and shows great confidence in the Aberdeen market from a very popular brand.”
The Marischal Square development includes two city centre office buildings providing 173,500 sq ft of Grade ‘A’ office space with secure parking, seven restaurants and café bars occupying the ground floor space, and a 126-room Residence Inn by Marriott.
Marischal Square is being delivered by urban regeneration specialists’ Muse Developments alongside site landowner Aberdeen City Council with Aviva Investors providing the project funding. It will deliver an economic boost to the immediate area from enhanced footfall and more people working and using leisure facilities. It is also part of the 25-year City Centre Masterplan which is kick-starting a public and private sector regeneration.
Muse Developments’ regional director, Scotland, Stephen Turner, said the addition of the Costa brand name to the tenant list at Marischal Square was another endorsement of the ambitions for the development. “This is a major city centre transformational project which fully supports the long-term ambitions for Aberdeen and delivers a vibrant new mixed-use development in keeping with the city’s justifiable position as one of the UK’s leading business destinations.
“Local businesses have also benefitted significantly through the support contracts associated with building a project of this scale.
“Marischal Square has the potential to make a long-term impact on the local economy, especially as it is vital the city has the right mix of office and commercial space to respond to the challenges and opportunities it faces from the changes within the oil and gas sector.”