(This story has been updated to add the adviser.)
Global Mutual has signed homeware retailer Dunelm to take a large slice of the vacated John Lewis department store at Atria Watford, the former Intu shopping centre.
Dunelm will be opening in 33,000 square feet for its first store at Atria Watford. The mall is owned by property company SGS, a vehicle which represents the bondholders that took on the shopping centre after the collapse of Intu, one of the UK's largest landlords in the sector. The mall is asset-managed by Global Mutual in conjunction with Savills as property managers.
John Lewis occupied around 150,000 square feet spread over basement, lower mall, upper mall and the floor above that. The floorplates for the lower and upper mall are around 50,000 square feet. Dunelm has signed for most of the upper mall with the remaining space on that floor to be partitioned for a different retailer, CoStar News understands.
Dunelm already has 179 stores across the UK. Department stores giant John Lewis vacated in 2020 as part of a store closure programme.
Intu, which collapsed into administration two weeks before John Lewis's announcement in 2020, was the owner of the then Intu Watford. The mall now sits in the SGS propco, a bond structure that contains Lakeside in Kent, Braehead in Glasgow, the Victoria Centre in Nottingham and Intu Watford.
The new store will open in late 2023.
Atria Watford comprises 1.4 million square feet with tenants including Zara, M&S, Primark, JDSports, Apple and Next.
Andrew Hamilton, director of store experience at Dunelm, said in a statement: “We’re delighted to have found a new home for our latest Dunelm store in Atria Watford, which provides us with an ideal location to serve the local community, bringing to them a huge range of homewares that is an unbeatable combination of quality and value.”
Steve Gray, head of European retail asset Management at Global Mutual, said: “It’s great to welcome the first ever Dunelm to Atria Watford. This is an exciting deal for the centre.
“We’re continuing to diversify our brand mix. Dunelm is a new name for us, and its much-loved homewares will act as a real draw for customers as the store opens its doors later this year.”
Lunson Mitchenall and Brasier Freeth advise Global Mutual. GCW advised Dunelm.