Yasmeen restaurant opens in St John’s Wood!
We are delighted to advise that Yasmeen are now open at 1 Blenheim Terrace, St John’s Wood.
Lewis Craig acted on the sale of the former Italian restaurant to Yasmeen, who are a high quality Lebanese restaurant. Yasmeen have undertaken a complete refurbishment of the entire space, including their fantastic raised outside terrace overlooking the beautiful suburb of St John’s Wood.
Nando’s at MK1 Leisure Park
Nando’s, have opened their fifth restaurant in Milton Keynes. The unit, comprising some 4,000 sq ft, is located at MK1 the new fashion and leisure park located alongside the Milton Keynes Dons stadium. Lewis Craig represented Nando’s in the acquisition process.
MK 1 has an impressive line-up, with occupiers on the leisure side including Pizza Express, TGI Friday’s, Frankie & Benny’s, Prezzo and Chimichanga as well as a state of the art 11 screen Odeon Cinema. The fashion element of the development houses brands including Marks & Spencer, Primark, River Island, H&M and Outfit.
The MK1 development adds to existing operators established in and around MK Stadium, including DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, with IKEA and an Asda Supercentre located closeby.
Coffee Republic appoint Lewis Craig
Lewis Craig have been appointed by Coffee Republic to assist their growing number of UK franchisees in securing new sites.
Coffee Republic currently operate 4 Company Bars, including Bluewater Shopping Centre, with 16 UK franchises, including Marble Arch and Wood Green, with a further 4 franchises opening by Mid Feb 2015, and the franchise division is on target for a minimum of 20 plus new franchises, by the end of 2015.
In addition to operating in the UK, Coffee Republic have a growing international presence, with 19 Bars operated by Master Franchisees in South Africa, Jordan, Kuwait, Vilnius International Airport Lithuania (opened in September 2014) Pakistan (Lahore and Islamabad opened in 2013), Romania and Lanzarote Airport in the Canary Islands (opened in August 2014), Qatar (in the prestigious Pearl Development in Doha opened in December 2014), and the latest International Bar due to open in Oman in February, with discussions underway with several other prospective international master licence operators.
We Grill now open at Leadenhall Market
It’s great to see We Grill now open and we are certain that this exciting new food concept will be a massive success.
We Grill offers a unique selection of healthy skewers, original seasoned side dishes and homemade soups, made from the best ingredients and all cooked fresh daily. Combining healthy with tasty and local with seasonal, the menu will be constantly evolving to satisfy a food savvy customer base.
Leadenhall Market, one of the main shopping destinations in the City of London, offers a unique variety of interesting retail brands and a wide range of restaurants, bars and cafes from fine dining, to traditional pubs to speciality food on the go.
As retained property advisers to We Grill, Lewis Craig acted on the premises acquisition and are now actively seeking to secure a second location.
Lewis Craig Instructed by Portlands 24/7 on Central London Expansion
We are delighted to have been retained to represent Portlands 24/7 in their Central London retail expansion.
Founded in 1985, as Portland Food & Wine, with the first and longest running store on Great Portland Street, the convenience store chain recently rebranded to Portlands 24/7, currently operate 8 well located units across Central London ranging in size from 400 to 2,500 sq ft.
L’Osteria Ready for UK Expansion
Lewis Craig are delighted to be representing L’Osteria with their UK expansion plans. L’Osteria is a reasonably priced casual dining experience serving exceptional pizza and pasta.
The plan is to establish the first restaurant in Central London offering 5,500/7,500 sq ft, ideally providing for 150/200 covers along with a bar area. Future expansion will be in major cities and university towns across the UK.
L’Osteria is a well established brand in mainland Europe, opening their first restaurant in 1999 and currently operating 45 restaurants across Germany and Austria.
L’Osteria will be owned and operated by L’Osteria UK (a joint venture between Prashant ‘Pru’ Naik and L’Osteria Austria). Managing Director and owner, Pru Naik, brings to L’Osteria’s management team over 30 years of experience in the hospitality and restaurant industry.
Pru has successfully led businesses ranging from logistics to multi-unit restaurants. Until recently, Mr. Naik owned and operated 25 McDonald’s restaurants in Central and West London, making him the largest McDonalds UK franchisee.
Please click here for the property requirement flyer, and do get in touch with Theo Benedyk or Richard Grossman to discuss further.
Biju Bubble Tearoom Launches in Soho
We are delighted to advise that our client Biju Bubble Tearoom have now launched their first UK shop at 45 Old Compton Street, Soho. Biju is an exciting new brand, dedicated to serving the tastiest bubble tea, using the freshest ingredients available.
Bubble Tea is gaining popularity in the UK, particularly in London and Biju are looking to capitalise by becoming a brand leader in a marketplace with huge potential and a captive customer base.
We think the brand and product are excellent, we wish Nick and the team every success, and we look forward to working closely with Biju Bubble Tearoom on the acquisition of further locations in key Central London locations.
Please click here for the property requirement flyer, and get in touch with Theo Benedyk to discuss Biju’s expansion plans.
All on Schedule for Trailfinders 2014 Openings
Acting on behalf of retained client Trailfinders, Lewis Craig have recently acquired properties in St Albans and Guildford, both now open, as well as a relocation property in Cardiff currently being fitted out.
The St Albans Travel Centre, which opened in March 2014 is located at 3 Market Place, alongside the famous 15th Century St Albans Clock Tower close to the junction of High Street.
This Grade II listed property, has dual frontages to Market Place and French Row and comprises an overall 1750 sq ft. The property has been sensitively restored to preserve the distinctive character and appearance of the locality, although there were some interesting setbacks during the fit-out as can be expected for a building of this age!
June saw the opening of Trailfinders Guildford Travel Centre, located at 146 High Street, occupying a prime position in this highly sought after High Street with a line-up that includes House of Fraser, Hugo Boss, Ted Baker, Karen Millen, etc. The property offers some 1700 sq ft over ground and first floors.
The Cardiff property, located in the heart of the city in busy pedestrianised Queen Street, is situated alongside the entrance to Queens Arcade and close to Cardiff Castle. Currently being fitted out the property which provides a ground floor retail area of some 2,300 sq ft along with additional ancillary space, is scheduled to open in October, as a relocation from 37 St Mary’s Street where Trailfinders have been located since 2005.
Lewis Craig, property advisers to Trailfinders, negotiated the freehold acquisitions of all three properties.
Contact Richard Grossman for further information and on Trailfinders continuing requirements.
Soho move for Bare Escentuals
Lewis Craig are delighted to have represented our client Bare Escentuals with their office relocation project, which saw the company move from their previous Soho Square offices, to Film House in Wardour Street.
Film House is one of Soho’s most prominent buildings, located on the East side of Wardour Street, in the heart of Soho. Wardour Street is one of London’s buzziest hotspots, being surrounded by numerous bars, restaurants and shopping facilities.
The premises, located on the fourth floor of Film House, provide approximately 8,300 sq ft, of largely open-plan space. Having considered several other options, the premises were identified as offering the perfect solution for the company’s UK head office requirement.
Bare Escentuals’ in-house counsel, Elaine Hutton, comments, “We are very happy with the excellent service provided by Lewis Craig throughout the relocation project, through to legal formalities being concluded. As always, the team at Lewis Craig grasped the brief and delivered excellent results.”
Originally founded in 1994 by Leslie Blodgett, in San Francisco, Bare Escentuals, with mineral based cosmetics line bareMinerals, has become a global success story. The company has been operating in the UK for over 15 years, trading from Selfridges, John Lewis, House of Fraser and Debenhams as well as bareMinerals stores across the country.
Please contact Richard Grossman regarding Bare Escentuals’ general property requirements.