News

The start of 2023 was relatively slow in terms of deals being completed, but there was lots of tentative interest around despite the economic uncertainty. However, the second half of the year to date has been really promising with our Retail and Leisure team having been involved in 12 lettings equating to around 18,000 sq ft of accommodation.

There have been two notable lettings on East Street. The first saw Mint Velvet relocating within the city to 19-20 East Street. This move provided them with a larger store in a city they know performs well for them. The property provides around 2,500 sq ft of retail space on the ground floor, together with ancillary accommodation above. 

Occupiers repositioning themselves within locations they already sit has definitely been a common theme over the last few years. In Chichester we have also seen occupiers such as Greggs and Barnardos do this.

The other letting was to Pret a Manger who were previously in the city and have decided to reopen at 31-32 East Street, which totals around 2,000 sq ft. Other openings in the city include We Are Yarn, The Rare Brand Market, Trojan Barbers and Black Sheep Coffee. 

Vacancy levels in the city are currently around 6% which is well below the national average of 13.8% (British Retail Consortium). There continues to be good demand for well positioned and configured retail units within Chichester with a number of the vacant ones under offer.

Director, Sebastian Martin, commented, “It is great to see occupiers staying in the city and also new ones opening. In my view, lots of the demand can be attributed to the reduction in Business Rates which Chichester always struggled with and landlords being open minded to the types of leases which some occupiers are seeking in today’s market. Also the rebasing of rents has helped”.