Pooks Commercial Property Consultants of Shrewsbury report a busy year in the retail property sector, proving again Shrewsbury's popularity as a retail destination.

The county town's prime retail pitch, Pride Hill, continues to remain busy with ‘Zone A' rents at about £130 psf. Ladies fashion retailer, Jane Norman, has taken the old Barratts shoes unit at the entrance to the Pride Hill Shopping Centre, otherwise, due to very short supply, few shops have changed hands here.

Demand for units in prominent secondary trading locations has been high, resulting in rental growth in these areas. This is reflected in the letting of 25-26 The Square to Starbucks who have added to the growing coffee shop culture in the town at a rent understood to reflect about £80 Zone A. Elsewhere, Pooks have 7 Claremont Street under offer to an unnamed national retailer.

Acting on behalf of the owners of The Market Hall block of property, a major pension fund, Pooks have completed the letting of 24 Shoplatch to another national operator, Hidden Hearing, at a rent approaching £40 Zone A. In the vicinity, 16 Shoplatch was let to Lane Fox estate agents (now trading as Strutt & Parker following the merger of the two firms). The premises form part of the Theatre Royal development [photo] carried out by Chartland, which comprises 20 apartments with two shops beneath. Pooks' sister company, Cooper Green, is marketing the apartments, while Pooks have the remaining shop available to let on a new lease.

Pooks have also let 2 Market Street to Morris Marshall and Poole, who have expanded their mid-Wales/Shropshire Borders practice.

Wyle Cop continues to be one of the town's most successful secondary shopping pitches particularly for ladies' fashions and 77a Wyle Cop has been taken by Lyuba Fashion Studio. Rents at the “top of the Cop” are now also around £40 Zone A.

Elsewhere in the town centre, lettings have been successfully completed to a number of other niche and specialist retailers including The Silver Box, who have opened at 12 Fish Street and established furniture and soft furnishings business, The Village, have expanded their existing premises into 25 Mardol.

It is not only the town centre shops that are doing well, the traditional suburban locations are also proving to be in demand, offering prominent locations at competitive rents. BWG Commercial Finance Specialists have taken 130 Longden Coleham and Pooks have nearby 9 Greyfriars Bridge under offer.

On the sales side, there are few opportunities to purchase town centre freehold premises with vacant possession and where these opportunities arise they continue to attract considerable interest from owner occupiers and investors alike. This was evidenced in the sale of 12 Mardol [photo] comprising a ground floor shop and basement with self contained upper floors in need of renovation, asking price £265,000. Similar premises are currently under offer on the fringes of the town centre at 36 Abbey Foregate and 72-74 Belle Vue Road. Pooks also sold 71 Copthorne Road, which was a residential investment property comprising four flats each let on assured shorthold tenancies (asking price £290,000).

In the surrounding villages, Pooks have also sold the former Lloyds TSB premises at 11 Station Road, Pontesbury [photo]. At offers over £25,000, and with scope for residential conversion, the sale attracted a considerable amount of interest. With best and final offers being sought, over 20 were received, resulting in a sale well in excess of the asking price.

The sale of profitable existing businesses also proved successful and Pooks were pleased to dispose of The Carpet Gallery on Barker Street for the retiring owners.

Having now said goodbye to 2007, there is still considerable interest in currently available units, which bodes well for 2008, despite reports from some national retailers of difficult trading conditions across the country.

Credit to Steven Evans, Surveyor
Pooks
26 Claremont Hill, Shrewsbury, SY1 1RE
01743 276633
Email: sre@pooks.co.uk