NOTTINGHAM ENTERING A NEW ERA SAYS FHP RETAIL REVIEW

Retail News

A new analysis carried out by FHP Property Consultants says that Nottingham city centre is reclaiming it’s crown as the top destination for shopping and leisure visitors in the East Midlands.

FHP’s Retail Review 2015 examines how Nottingham has changed in an era when the growth of internet shopping has meant that visitors are looking for more than just high quality shopping when they come into the city centre.

It suggests that the growth in the numbers of cafes and restaurants, along with renewed investment in both of the city’s shopping centres, means that Nottingham is now in a much stronger position to satisfy demands from visitors who want to spend more time experiencing what the city has to offer.

FHP has been in business for 25 years and its role in marketing premises in high streets, shopping centres and new concepts like The Cornerhouse has given it a unique expertise and a market-leading position in retail and leisure property services.

FHP’s Retail Review replaces its long-running report into the numbers of retail vacancies in the city, which Director Ben Tebbutt says is no longer relevant.

He commented: “We never accepted some of the wilder claims about the numbers of vacant shops in Nottingham. They were done by outsiders and they lacked grassroots knowledge of the way the city works. In any case, that debate is largely over, and the issue now is how cities and towns manage the transition to a world where the high street has to accommodate a mix of traditional shopping, click and collect and leisure activities.

The solutions lie in a mix of flexible, forward-looking planning policies and an understanding that people come into a city as an activity and an experience rather than a routine shopping trip. What our analysis shows is that Nottingham is, again, leading that transition in the East Midlands with a rise in the numbers of different restaurant and cafe concepts.”

The new arrivals have ranged from international brands like the Five Guys premium burger chain to the locally-owned 200 Degrees Coffee, which combines an intimate coffee house atmosphere with a barista school.

But Ben Tebbutt says there are also good reasons to be optimistic about the more traditional shopping locations, which were the subject of competing expansion plans in the past. He commented “Nottingham just isn’t big enough to support two large centres, and the risk was that if Westfield had proceeded with a massive expansion of Broadmarsh, the Victoria Centre might have been left behind.

With Intu now owning both centres, we have got the best of both worlds – a £45m refurbishment of the Victoria Centre that has transformed the interior, a new restaurant quarter under construction, and a substantial redevelopment of Broadmarsh to follow.

When you put that together with all the new restaurant and cafe brands that have signed up to make the most of the magnificent Market Square, you have a city which is in a very strong position to appeal to visitors who are looking for great shopping and a vibrant range of eating options.”

FHP has also played a leading role in bringing high-quality national restaurant and cafe chains to West Bridgford, supporting the economic growth of an increasingly popular affluent suburb. Ben Tebbutt says there are lessons to learn for planners in the way both the city centre and West Bridgford have evolved.

He commented “We spent some considerable time marketing some of the vacant retail premises in West Bridgford, but even with all our experience it was becoming obvious that the market had moved on. There has been vocal opposition to the arrival of some of the high-profile national restaurants and cafes that we have brought it, but the results speak for themselves – West Bridgford is a busier, more vibrant place and all of the shops have benefited from an increase in footfall.

There are lessons in what has happened in both West Bridgford and the city centre for planning authorities. The retail and leisure market is changing at a faster pace than ever before, and councils need to have policies which are flexible enough to enable them to take advantage of those trends.”

He concluded “Nottingham is an incredibly attractive location for retail and leisure operators. It has a big student population, a fantastic focal point in the Market Square and it’s seeing new brands arrive thanks to the investment in the shopping centres. We’re into a new era and the city is now back in a strong position.”