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Footasylum expands presence at Merry Hill

2025-04-17 13:54:39 By

Footasylum, Merry Hill

High street fashion brand Footasylum has expanded its presence at the Merry Hill centre in Dudley.

The move has more than tripled its footprint at the retail hub after relocating from a 3,000 sq ft unit to a 10,000 sq ft unit.

The upsized store has features including a mobile payment system, new digital screens and a refreshed fit-out alongside an expanded selection of products across all categories.

Shannon Osman, head of retail at Footasylum, said: "We are thrilled to announce the opening of our newly expanded Footasylum store at Merry Hill.

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"Over the past several years, Merry Hill has proven to be an excellent location for our brand and we've developed a strong base of loyal customers and have established ourselves as a well-known brand in the West Midlands.

"We're thrilled to welcome customers to our enhanced store experience, showcasing our even bigger and better range of products from the world's leading footwear and apparel brands."

Alistair Winning, asset manager at Merry Hill's manager Sovereign Centros, said: "Merry Hill is a centre where brands not only succeed but thrive, exemplified by the expansion of Footasylum.

"This year we have driven record levels of brand investment, with Footasylum now sitting among dozens of leading names that have both committed and recommitted to the destination, demonstrating Merry Hill's transformation and catchment strength."

This latest letting follows recent deals with XF Gym and Australian electronic and home product retailer Harvey Norman.

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Commercial Property2025-04-17 13:54:39

Ardent relocates Birmingham team to new base

A development consultancy has relocated its Birmingham team to a new home in the city. Ardent, which specialises in land, consent management and stakeholder engagement, has moved to Northspring in Temple Street from The Colmore Building. The firm works on consenting and delivering projects across the transport, renewables, utilities and regeneration sectors. It employs around 50 staff in Birmingham and 200 across its portfolio of offices in London, Leeds, Warrington, Dublin and Glasgow. Email newsletters BusinessLive is your home for business news from across the West Midlands including Birmingham, the Black Country, Solihull, Coventry and Staffordshire. Click through here to sign up for our email newsletter and also view the broad range of other bulletins we offer including weekly sector-specific updates. We will also send out 'Breaking News' emails for any stories which must be seen right away. LinkedIn For all the latest stories, views and polls, follow our BusinessLive West Midlands LinkedIn page here. Group managing director Jonathan Stott said the move was part of the company's wider growth strategy and to offer the best possible working environment to colleagues. He said: "We support the delivery of some of the most important developments across the UK through the expertise of our people across all of our teams. "It has led to very strong growth over the past couple of years and we are planning to grow the team even further in Birmingham and across our other locations too. "Northspring offers us a fantastic space for the team to be able to come together in one place, to collaborate and to offer the very best service to clients.

Commercial Property2025-04-17 13:54:39

Demolition team appointed to flatten derelict police station and pave way for new development

A demolition team has been hired to demolish the former Bonny Street Police Station and Magistrates' courts in preparation for new developers at the Blackpool Central site. The clearance process, which will include Chapel Street car park and the old joke shop on Central Drive, will be led by DSM Demolition. Work is set to begin in the new year and may take up to six months. During this period, the 15-acre council-owned plot will be marketed globally to attract fresh investment after the departure of the previous developer, Nikal, which had plans for hotels, restaurants and indoor theme parks. The council has terminated its land sale deal with Nikal but will retain £4.5 million from the original agreement signed in January 2020. A multi-storey car park with a 1,306-space capacity recently opened at the site, with an option for the council to acquire it for a nominal sum in the future, reports Lancs Live. The leader of Blackpool Council, Coun Lynn Williams, said: "Blackpool Central sits right at the heart of our plans to make Blackpool better for everybody. We're committed to attracting a world-class leisure development that creates jobs for our local people, extends our tourism season to be all year round and supports our local economy to grow. "In the last five years at Blackpool Central, we've made more progress on this site than the 50 years before it since the Blackpool Central train station closed in the 1960s, largely paid for by the private sector without risking council tax payer's money." She added: "The road to regeneration isn't always smooth but we will not stand still. We will continue our plans to demolish the courts and the police station early in the new year in order to create a shovel-ready site for a new leisure attraction. "We have very high standards for the type of attraction which this site needs and any future scheme will have to match those ambitions. To deliver on that we need serious investors and we will be heavily marketing this opportunity to get that international calibre of attraction." The demolition costs will be covered by the £6.95m allocated to the project from the previous government's Levelling Up fund.

Commercial Property2025-04-17 13:54:39

Angry residents told their objections to controversial office-to-residential plans are 'not applicable'

Residents living near the Sale Point office block in Sale have been told that their objections to its conversion into 80 apartments 'are not applicable'. The locals, who live adjacent to the six-storey building on the A56 Washway Road - a key route from Altrincham into Manchester - argue that the development will exacerbate existing traffic and parking issues. They have also expressed concerns about the ability of local schools and doctors' surgeries to accommodate the influx of new residents. The plans to transform the 1970s building are currently under review by Trafford council's planning officers. However, as the conversion falls under 'permitted development' regulations, the decision will be made by planning officers, not the borough's planning committee. The final decision is still pending. In this week's committee meeting, a separate application was approved for the replacement of all windows and frames at Sale Point, additional window openings, and the installation of Juliette balconies, seemingly paving the way for the eventual approval of the conversion. Despite this, 15 letters of objection were received from neighbouring residents, highlighting concerns over the impact on the highway network, local services such as doctors' surgeries and schools, and ongoing parking issues. Nevertheless, a report to the committee stated that the applicant, Blueoak Estates Ltd's plan, was 'in line with local, regional and national policies', reports the Manchester Evening News. "The proposal is considered to have been designed appropriately and will not have any unacceptable impact on the amenity and quality of life of adjacent residents," the statement read. Trafford's major projects planning officer, Sarah Lowes, informed councillors of a 'separate and pending' change-of-use application from office to residential that falls under 'nationally set permitted development rights', which officers have 'fully delegated' authority to decide upon. Councillor Simon Thomas highlighted that the ongoing use of the building wasn't being scrutinised by the planning committee. "I can see no reason, without much debate, why we can't agree with the officers' recommendation to approve it," he said. Councillor Mike Cordingley concurred, but added: "I can understand why the residents feel that the planning system isn't working for them. I can see why they've objected. Those objections are not applicable to this application, and so we're doing the right thing by allowing it. "But that doesn't remove the feeling of unease that this is not working for them and that they've got an opinion that needs to be heard. I'm just putting it on record, that I hear what they're saying." During discussions earlier in the day with the Local Democracy Reporting Service, residents expressed their concerns. A resident of Westbourne Grove, who chose to remain anonymous, said "The major issue here is around parking. There are not going to be anywhere near enough parking spaces for the people living in that block." Discussing past difficulties before residential parking permits and a two-hour waiting restriction were introduced, they said these measures were necessary due to 'a lot of problems'. Another local voiced frustrations, commenting: "The traffic around here is horrendous. We feel like we are prisoners here sometimes." Residents from surrounding streets including Westgate, Walnut Grove, Barkers Lane, and St Mary's Road also lodged complaints. A Westgate inhabitant was apprehensive about privacy, stating: "We will be overlooked directly by the apartments. They will be able to look directly into our rooms and gardens. There will also be an increase in illegal and obstructive parking. "There are already difficulties getting out of the Barkers Lane/Washway Road junction. There is also limited capacity for local schools and GPs."

Commercial Property2025-04-17 13:54:39

New £250m data centre could open in Greater Manchester

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Commercial Property2025-04-17 13:54:39

Holiday Inn proposes major redesign for Hull property

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Commercial Property2025-04-17 13:54:39

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Commercial Property2025-04-17 13:54:39

Gary Neville says ‘leap of faith’ paid off as No 1 St Michael’s in Manchester is fully let before building work completes

Footballer turned property developer Gary Neville says he’s proud of the “leap of faith” taken by his company Relentless Developments as its flagship office building is now fully let before it is even completed. Relentless started work on the 100% speculative development in 2022 and has since secured six office tenants and three food and drink operators. It has three times set a new headline rent for offices in the city. The business calls No.1 St Michael’s “the best new office development outside London” and says this is “the first time in 15 years a speculative office building of this scale in Manchester has been fully let prior to practical completion”. Last month investment bank Cavendish announced it was opening its first office in Manchester and would be moving into No.1 St Michael’s in spring. In October Channel 4 confirmed it was to take 12,293 sq ft of space at No. 1 St Michael’s. The scheme, set to open in late spring 2025, has been delivered by Relentless and investment firm KKR, supported by Manchester City Council. Bowmer & Kirkland started work on the building in January 2022. OBI Property, CBRE and Metis Real Estate are instructed to support Relentless with letting the commercial space, while Kuits Solicitors has provided legal advice. Gary Neville, director at Relentless Developments, said: “It was a huge leap of faith to speculatively-build a development in excess of 200k sq ft but we’ve always been confident in our ambition for the building. We spent a great deal of time understanding what modern occupiers want from an office and ensured we carefully selected the right amenities and F&B operators into the development. We also recognised sustainability was crucial and invested heavily in time and capital to ensure our ESG credentials met the aspirations of our tenants. “Achieving fully-let status ahead of completion is thanks in no small part to the world-class partners we’ve had supporting us along the way; KKR and Manchester City Council for remaining committed to our vision, our tenacious agent partners for marketing the scheme’s potential and B&K for the beautiful building we’ve created. I’d also like to thank all our tenants for their trust in our ability to set new standards in quality, aesthetic and experience for office working here in Manchester.” Nicky Barker, head of asset management in KKR’s European Real Estate team, said: "In today’s market, top tenants expect world-class sustainability, a prime location and distinctive amenities – these have become crucial drivers of long-term value. This was the vision we shared with Relentless when collaborating on the development of St. Michael’s, a vision now affirmed by the project's success in setting new benchmarks for Manchester’s real estate market." Relentless will soon launch another 80k sq ft of office space at the neighbouring No. 2 St Michael’s.

Commercial Property2025-04-17 13:54:39

Construction begins on new business units at Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone

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Commercial Property2025-04-17 13:54:39

From dentistry to the Yorkshire Dales: family firm changes career to acquire camping and guesthouse business

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Commercial Property2025-04-17 13:54:39

Landsec buys majority stake in Liverpool One shopping centre for £490m

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