Property developer Quadrant and Eccleston Capital have teamed up to transform disused UK retail properties into other uses.
In a joint statement, the companies said the newly launched Quadrant Repurpose venture plans to repurpose redundant department stores and other large retail units across the country.
Working with the existing owners of appropriate assets or acquiring assets outright, Quadrant Repurpose will identify assets which have “potential for transformation into other uses” including residential, hotels and leisure.
“It will also identify where department stores can retain a presence in reconfigured space which better meets the needs of shoppers.
“This could entail bringing in different uses alongside the retail offer,” the companies said.
Christopher Daniel, Quadrant’s founding partner, said: “It’s clear that huge swathes of redundant retail property urgently need to be repurposed for new uses.
“If the UK’s high streets and town centres are to be revitalised, this will be an essential part of the process.”
Mark Phillipson, Eccleston Capital’s founder, said: “The UK has more than 1,000 department stores. These represent a huge footprint in urban locations across the country, and a substantial proportion of these stores are facing the prospect of no longer having a retailing future.
“For example, more than 50 former BHS stores still remain vacant three years after the retailer ceased trading.”
Phillipson said it will not be viable to transform all of the stores facing redundancy, but Quadrant Repurpose can assess the viability and bring together the expertise and capital which the repurposing process demands from planning through to development.
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