Supermarket Waitrose is to open the first of its new concept stores outside the M25 in Birmingham’s Colmore Business District.
The Little Waitrose store will take over the ground floor of Ballymore-owned One Colmore Row from property firm Knight Frank, which is moving its operation onto the first and second floors.
The move, subject to planning permission, follows the creation in the past two years of a Tesco Express and Sainsbury's Local in the area, but Gary Cardin, chairman of Colmore Business District (CBD), is confident there will be plenty of footfall to support all three stores.
He said: “We’ve got in the region of 24,000 workers in the CBD and they will need everything from the convenience basket store right through to somewhere they can pop out and grab the odd essential.
"The more opportunities we have to create that choice and vibrancy for the area, the better.
"It’s just great to get another quality retail unit in to support the Colmore Business District which further supports our plans for enhancing the area in front of Snow Hill station and is a key part of our activity for further improvements.”
Waitrose, which also has supermarkets in Harborne and Hall Green, as well as a convenience outlet in Sutton Coldfield, has agreed a 15-year lease at a rent close to £25 per sq ft on the 3,600 sq ft unit and Daren Humphrey from the retailer said they believed the location was ideal for the store.
He said: “We have been looking at Birmingham city centre sites for a number of years and are pleased to confirm that our proposals have been submitted to the city council.
“Our intention is to open our first Little Waitrose store in the city, a concept which is currently only rolled out in four other locations within the M25.
"We believe that there is a strong market for this store concept and that it will be strong addition to the food retail offer in the city centre.”
Ashley Hudson, new head of Knight Frank’s Birmingham office, said the deal was the culmination of a long-running search for the right occupier as it looked to surrender the ground floor frontage.
He said: “Waitrose coming to Colmore Row is excellent news for the city centre – who doesn’t want a Waitrose on the doorstep? For us at Knight Frank, lunchtimes will be a lot more exciting with the store just downstairs.
“As a business, we’re pleased to have agreed the surrender of part of the building we occupy as having looked at a number of options to do so, this opportunity is a perfect fit.”
King Sturge acted for Waitrose on the deal while Ballymore was unrepresented.
