AshbyCapital signs slew of tenants at Paisley and Swansea retail parks

AshbyCapital has signed a string of tenants at Morfa Shopping Park in Swansea and Abbotsinch Shopping Park in Paisley, Scotland. At Morfa, JD Sports has signed a 10-year lease on a 10,000 sq ft unit, marking its third location in Swansea, while Tui is taking a 1,500 sq ft pod on a five-year lease. Both stores are anticipated to open this autumn. Additionally, lease renewals have been finalised with EE and Card Factory.  At Abbotsinch shopping park in Paisley, six new agreements have been secured with existing retailers, all committing to 10-year leases. DFS has renewed its lease for 25,000 sq ft; Sofology and Dunelm continue in a 20,000 sq ft unit each; Wren has signed for 15,000 sq ft; ScS has maintained a 10,000 sq ft space; and Dreams has renewed for a 5,000 sq ft unit. The average rental increase across these agreements is nearly 20%. AshbyCapital purchased Morfa Shopping Park in 2015 for £83.5m and Abbotsinch Shopping Park in 2019 for £68m. Quadrant is the asset manager for both retail parks. John Maddison, partner at Quadrant, said: “These renewal deals reflect existing retailers’ strong performance and affordability at Morfa and Abbotsinch shopping parks, which remain dominant in their respective locations.” Tom McCafferty, senior property manager at AshbyCapital, said: “Retail parks continue to outperform the wider retail sector and these deals are a testament to our strategy of focusing on the highest quality assets where we can create an appealing offer for consumers and drive performance through proactive asset management working with our partners at Quadrant.”