Shaftesbury turns Seven Dials ex-mini mall into flagship space

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 1, 2017

We’ve heard about an interesting new property development in Seven Dials, London, that could see a major retail store taking over what used to be a mini shopping centre.

Property firm Shaftesbury is planning to develop the historic Thomas Neal’s Warehouse building that offers 21,000 sq ft of space over two floors and has the potential to be a “unique world-class flagship,” the company said.

In its time as a shopping centre, the building hosted a raft of casualwear brands including Superdry, Boxfresh, Carhartt, Firetrap, Fred Perry, Diesel, G-Star and Fat Face that were well suited to the neighbourhood’s predominantly young visiting shopper.

Shaftesbury is turning the space back into a “blank canvas” that still has the feel of there warehouse it once was and said a new tenant would be able to create a “famous retail attraction”. It also said it has received significant interest already.

The building was named after the MP who first developed Seven Dials with its unique star street pattern at the end of the 17th century.

The area, part of Covent Garden, has been transformed in recent years and now gets around 32 million visitors annually. Shaftesbury said it is very popular with “pre-family lifestage groups” with 63% of its shoppers being from the London catchment area and 37% being UK or foreign tourists. Some 60% of its visitors are female and of all visitors, 60% come either in the most affluent or “urban prosperity” categories.

Shaftesbury has major property holdings in central London and only last moth announced a development in Berwick Street, which straddles Soho and Carnaby.

It has acquired a long-leasehold interest in 90-104 Berwick Street for £38.5 million and is redeveloping it to create 12,500 sq ft of retail space as well as a supermarket, restaurant and 110 bedroom hotel, all of which will be ready next year.

Berwick Street is near the end of an upgrade and is expected to benefit from a significant increase in footfall from the opening of the Elizabeth Line and Tottenham Court Road's new ticket hall on Dean Street in December 2018.