King Edward Court
At King Edward Court in Windsor, the Centre returned to full occupancy having lost two retailers to some form of insolvency in December 2008. The two units that became vacant were on either side of Robert Gatward, a chain of upmarket jewellers who had recently taken over an existing jewellery business within the Centre. This presented an opportunity to extend and amalgamate all three units to create better configured space with more visible frontage.
We obtained planning consent for the works during the year and pre-let the larger of the shops to Robert Gatward, who have significantly increased their retail space. Another unit has been let to Fat Face, the fashion chain, while the remaining space has been taken by Mystique Lingerie.
The combined rent of the three units is £295,000 per annum, a 42% increase over the previous passing rent. In addition we have managed to increase Zone A rents to over £115 for the shops fronting onto the principal mall, a record for this part of the Centre.
The total cost of the deal, including all tenant incentives, has been approximately £0.5 million. The total income for King Edward Court now stands at a record £7.8 million per annum, an increase over the year of 6.8%.
