Innes England has been appointed to handle acquisition work by national food retailer Heron Foods Limited.
The Nottingham property consultant has been appointed to search for new food stores throughout the East Midlands, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.
The appointment is part of a national strategy by Heron to open a further 30 stores over the next 12 months.
Heron Foods has successfully developed its business in retailing frozen and convenience store goods at a discount, the majority of which are household brands. It is a family owned business based in Hull and employs over 1,700 people across the UK.
It currently trades from over 175 stores, predominantly in the North & Midlands.
In 2009, 30 years after the company was first established, the business took the decision to move to a new 270,000 sq ft purpose-built distribution facility in East Yorkshire, which has the capacity to service some 400 stores; well beyond the current number.
Estates Director at Heron Foods Jonathan Laverack, said: “We were very pleased to appoint Innes England for this work after being impressed with the way in which they handled previous property work.
“Given the current pressures on household incomes, shoppers are constantly looking for ways they can spend less on their weekly food bill and our successful business model reflects that priority”.
Innes England will take on the full programme of acquisition work to deliver the retailer’s strategic targets for growth over the next 12 months. Prior to the appointment, the property agent had already let a unit to Heron at Kimberley Shopping Centre and identified an off-market opportunity in Nottingham, which is currently being developed.
Ben Taylor, associate director of Innes England’s Nottingham office where the majority of the work will be handled, said: “We are proud to be associated with such a strong brand as Heron and delighted to have been instructed on this work.
“Our efforts are well underway to identify suitable sites. We are looking for city centre locations, busy main arterial routes and former pubs from 3,000 to 5,000 sq ft, either freehold or leasehold, in all towns across the Midlands.
“Heron Foods provides an excellent covenant to a landlord and its standard store fit is of high standard which is bound to increase the investment value of the stores it occupies on a leasehold basis.”
Heron Foods was ranked 13th by turnover in The Grocer magazine’s 2010 survey of the top 50 independent grocery retailers based on turnover in the year to December 2008.
