The vacancy rate of Grosvenor’s retail assets in Mayfair and Belgravia fell to just 0.8% at the end of last year, compared with a Q3 prime West End average of 11.3% (source: Savills).
Over the last few years, the landlord has implemented a number of innovative measures including the introduction of green leases, a simplified lease that takes just 72 hours to agree and a tenant investment fund to finance growth.
In the last 12 months, 45 new brands have opened for business in Grosvenor’s assets across Mayfair and Belgravia with 24 brands renewing tenancies. The landlord said excluding strategic voids and units already under offer, its vacancy rate stood at 0.8% at 31 December 2022.
Joanna Lea, director of retail at Grosvenor, said: “Our goal is to make the selection of property partner as important to a brand as location and rent. We’re working to achieve this by acting as a business partner to brands rather than a passive provider of space. And it works – initiatives like the tenant investment fund have been highly effective in building a new dialogue based on the idea of mutual success.
“We are very mindful of the outlook for 2023 and continue to look at ways of supporting occupier success. Reducing the time and cost involved in setting up shop is an issue that often arises for both smaller and larger business. Our simplified lease has made a vast improvement to this, with the new digital platform set to make it even easier, ultimately allowing occupiers to get in, up and running faster.”
Grosvenor said in spring this year it will launch a new digital platform to make the simplified lease process even easier and more efficient by centralising all information and automating certain functions.
