Retail parks are continuing to outperform the high street and shopping centres – and mezzanines play a crucial role in their success.
Offering competitive operations, including lower rent and service charges than other retail formats, retail parks are booming. The vacancy rate for usable space is just 2.1%, according to Savills, and footfall is rising. British Land – owning the most retail parks in the UK – recorded a 6% sales increase across its portfolio in its most recent financial year.
Here are our 5 top benefits of mezzanine floors for retail parks:
1.The ability to install a mezzanine is an often “overlooked” benefit of retail parks, according to Matthew Reed, British Land’s head of asset management for the sector. “In pure rental terms, retailers will pay us a rent per square foot on the ground floor for a 5,000 sq. ft. shop but they could add in an up to 5,000 sq. ft. mezzanine on top of this,” he told Retail Gazette. Waterstones, Next and M&S (the latter two both Hi-Level Mezzanines clients) are examples of those featuring additional floors in British Land retail parks. Units are so big, they usually have unused headroom, and installing commercial mezzanine structures allows retailers to benefit from all the advantages of a retail park in a highly cost-effective way, because they can have more space for their money.
2. Mezzanine floor benefits for retail parks include aesthetically pleasing designs for customer-facing areas, with smart glass and glistening handrails. This is pivotal because retail parks are increasingly destinations in their own right. “There’s more intent with consumers. They’re going for a day out and going for an experience,” says Amy Harman from Hotel Chocolat, which has scheduled all new stores in its pipeline to open on retail parks. Shoppers might shop for clothes, go to a coffee shop, take the kids to a climbing wall or work out in the gym, have a haircut, buy a sofa and stay for dinner in a restaurant. Boutique high street brand Lush as well as price-conscious Primark (another Hi-Level Mezzanines client) are increasingly choosing retail parks
3. Mezzanines are also invaluable for retail space optimisation, allowing retailers to devote more space to storage so they can feed stores from their warehouses. Mezzanine design for the back end of a store can be very robust and practical, with copious space for retailers to hold stock (the counterpoint to high street retailers keeping minimal stock and encouraging consumers to order online.) Retail parks are more accessible both for deliveries and customers. Usually to be found on major roads with plenty of parking space, they are easily reachable. Additional storage capacity thanks to retail park mezzanine solutions gives shoppers more choice and less frustration.
4. Hi-Level Mezzanines has a superb track record. Our clients also include Aldi and Tesco, and the rise of the discounters and supermarket stalwarts on retail parks, as well as increased demand from large national retailers – including Next and M&S – have become “significant drivers of daily footfall,” according to Retail Gazette. The most profitable retail parks are typically anchored by food stores, which are an essential spend category. M&S is investing in 13 new stores, the first two in retail parks. These stores in Sunderland (the Galleries, Washington) and Guildford (Ladymead Retail Park) opened this spring. At the Galleries, M&S offers food and clothing ranges and will have a bakery, florist and wine shop, while Ladymead is a large food hall. In another sign of burgeoning investment, private commercial property collective M Core has invested £35m to buy a portfolio of eight retail parks from Southampton on the south coast to Dumfries in Scotland – part of its £125m investment in retail this year alone. More examples of Hi-Level Mezzanines clients include a Jollyes pet food superstore and a double project in Gateshead.
5.Hi-Level Mezzanines offers an outstanding service that is flexible to the needs of every client, with bespoke design and installation that matches each project. We can work in partnership with retail park developers and owners, getting involved early in the build to install cost-effective mezzanine floors as an attractive proposition for retailers. We also retrofit mezzanines for retail space expansion, allowing companies to keep pace with growth in demand and prepare for the future. The affordability of retail parks that comes from lower rents and service charges becomes even more affordable with a mezzanine.
If you are considering installing a mezzanine and would like more information, contact us today at [email protected] or call 01730 237 190 .
