The ground floor of the former Debenhams location in Carlisle city centre is scheduled to be occupied by a “MAJOR international retailer,” while the leasehold for The Lanes shopping centre is also up for sale.
A shop has accepted agreements to relocate into the property that shuttered more than three years ago, according to Savills, a real estate company.
The high street, which has suffered since the epidemic, will greatly benefit from the decision to reopen a section of the major structure.
In May 2021, Debenhams shuttered its location in the city centre, and the building has been empty ever then.
Savills is promoting the long leasehold for the city’s The Lanes shopping area, which is up for more than £15.7 million, in addition to the former Debenhams building.
With about 130,000 patrons and £879 million in retail and leisure spending within a 20-minute drive, the city’s main shopping centre commands a sizable catchment.
Savills claims that the 437,331 square foot asset brings in over £1.9 million in net operating income annually.
One of the main retail areas in Carlisle is The Lanes, which include stores including Primark, Next, Superdrug, New Look, River Island, Costa Coffee, and Lush.
“The offering of The Lanes comes at a favourable time in the UK retail investment market; there are definitely more motivated buyers in the market than we have seen for some time,” said Toby Ogilvie Smals, director of retail investment at Savills.
“Investment volumes are recovering in line with confidence in retail and the desire to capitalise on record high yields.
“We are optimistic that there will be high levels of interest in The Lanes, as it offers rare opportunity to acquire an asset with a high-quality tenant mix alongside attractive asset management opportunities to drive the asset forward.”
The arrival of a new retailer has been back by Carlisle MP, Julie Minns.
“A major international retailer potentially taking over the old Debenhams building is very welcome news, and would be a great boost for Carlisle and its city centre,” said Ms Minns.
“Businesses are once again finding confidence in the UK economy thanks to stable government and investment in our public services. Britain is once again open for business.”
The owner of one city centre business said he was ‘interested’ to see which business would take on the space.
“I’m really interested in who’s going to move in, even the ground floor must be 10,000 sq ft+ so will need to be a major player,” said James Hutchinson.
“It’s also interesting that the leasehold for the centre is up for sale which might mean a change of outlook / costs for the empty stores.
“I think that the future of the high street isn’t going to be huge department stores, it should be smaller more niche stores, much more akin to the 50s and 60s where we can fill the gaps which are left by online shopping, which has its place.”
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