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Meyer Bergman shops for more stores in Queensway

7 May 2014 | By Kat Spybey

Meyer Bergman has taken a further chunk of retail space on Queensway as it looks to ramp up its exposure to the west London suburb.

The fund manager is understood to have agreed a deal to buy a retail parade consisting of 27 shops on Queensway, which front onto its recently acquired Whiteleys Shopping Centre, for around £50m. The assets were bought by Meyer Bergman, in conjunction with Warren Todd, from a private Asian family.

The shops, which extend from 114-186 Queensway, comprise around 90,000 sq ft of lettable space and are leased to retailers including Boots, Santander Bank, Specsavers, The Post Office, Superdrug and Patisserie Valerie.

It is understood that Meyer Bergman will look to revamp the retail offering across the parade, bringing in higher-end retailers, and could also use the space to accommodate retailers moving out of Whiteleys while the scheme is repositioned.

It is thought property investor Johnny Sandelson, working with a Brunei family investor, could take a minority stake in the parade in the future. Sandelson is currently working on a wider revamp of the Queensway retail and leisure offer.

Investors are seeking to buy into the Queensway retail market in a bid to capitalise on its rejuvenation after it was hit by the opening of Westfield London and the continued strength of the West End retail district.

Property Week revealed in September last year that Meyer Bergman and Warren Todd – who owns a number of properties across Notting Hill and Holland Park – had bought the 300,000 sq ft, grade II-listed Whiteleys Shopping Centre for around £140m.

The pair are now working on plans to reinvigorate the retail offering at Whiteleys, focusing on more independent and boutique retail, while potentially adding residential on the upper floors.

Under the plans the cinema is expected to be moved to the basement alongside other leisure uses, with retail across the ground floor and both retail and leisure on the first floor. The upper office floors are likely to be converted into 100 to 120 flats and a boutique hotel with around 80 bedrooms.

A planning application is expected to be submitted for Whiteleys in the next 12 months.

Meyer Bergman has been highly active already this year, increasing its exposure to prime London retail assets including the £112m acquisition of Bond Street House, and the £70m acquisition of Waterstones’ London flagship store on Piccadilly.

All parties declined to comment.

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