CWM Retail Property Advisors and P-THREE have been appointed to the leasing team for Edinburgh St James, the £1bn mixed-use development in the city centre. The principal retail and leisure phase of the development will open in October 2020, followed by the cinema, W Edinburgh, and residential elements phased through the following year.
CWM, and new agency P-THREE, which was founded by Justin Taylor, will join the existing agencies Culverwell and DCL under the direction of Leasing Director, Chris Pyne. DCL and Culverwell act with Assistant Leasing Director Ed Corrigan on the F&B and leisure leasing. Ed recently joined Nuveen to support the retail leasing as well as focus specifically on creating Edinburgh St James’ F&B offer.
The news follows the announcement in April that Inditex is to open four brands at Edinburgh St James. Zara has taken a 37,000 sq ft store over three floors in the 1.7m sq ft development. In addition, Bershka, Stradivarius and Pull & Bear will open stores of 9,300 sq ft, 6,000 sq ft and 8,000 sq ft respectively. All four brands will be located in the main multi-level galleria. Inditex joins John Lewis & Partners, Next, and Everyman Cinemas in anchoring the retail and leisure offer, which is split across five levels, each offering a different tenant mix to satisfy a wide range of consumer needs and aspirations. W Edinburgh completes the line-up of anchor brands, with its iconic design set to be an attraction for innovative brand’s and visitors to the city alike.
Chris Pyne, Leasing Director at Edinburgh St James, commented: “Edinburgh St James has real momentum in the market, with brands and agents alike recognising what it adds to the city’s position as a European capital city. By bringing additional expertise into the team with the appointment of CWM and P-THREE alongside Culverwell and DCL, we have extended our reach even further as we move into the next stage of the leasing.”
Justin Taylor, founder of P-THREE, added: “Edinburgh St James is one of the most significant opportunities for retailers anywhere in Europe at the moment. Its people-first approach is creating a new focal point for retail in the city that will appeal to the residential catchment and significant tourism market alike. We are delighted to be working alongside CWM and Culverwell to create a new frame of reference in the industry.”
Research by CACI found that Edinburgh St James will increase the city’s catchment area by 13 per cent when it opens, reaching 1.9m people with £4.5bn of available spend. It will also benefit from the city’s £1bn visitor economy, where tourists spend an average of £236 per visit, compared to £162 in European benchmark cities such as Stockholm and Amsterdam. Edinburgh St James is also ideally placed to benefit from the significant uplift in spend during the August Festival period, the impact of which CACI equates to a second Christmas for retailers and F&B operators.
When complete, Edinburgh St James will span five floors of prime shopping, dining, leisure and entertainment, and is forecast to welcome in excess of 20 million visitors a year. Comprising 850,000 sq ft of retail space, Edinburgh St James will complement the luxury shopping offer of neighbouring luxury retailer Harvey Nichols, which anchors the premium shopping street of Multrees Walk. Strategically completing the city centre’s retail circuit, the development will also be home to 30 new restaurants, cafés and bars; Scotland’s first W Hotel – W Edinburgh – which includes 244 stylish guestrooms, a buzzing destination bar, outdoor terrace, signature restaurant, and an AWAY® Spa; luxury aparthotel brand Roomzzz, comprising 75-rooms; and 152 apartments by Native Land; in addition to delivering nine new public squares and 1,600 car parking spaces.
