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Top story
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Retail body calls for breathing space on rents
While the property market eyes up the prospect of more empty retail units in the wake of banking mergers and restructurings, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today called for landlords to accept monthly rents, rather than upfront quarterly payments in a bid to give troubled retailers breathing space. BRC director general Stephen Robertson said: “Retailers are battling to keep shop prices down. The dam has burst. There is no principled or practical reason why landlords cannot offer this flexibility.” Eric Wright of Liverpool agency Hitchcock Wright & Partners told Insider: “This has only become an issue very recently because tenants are struggling – but so are landlords. It’s likely we’ll see a move towards monthly payments on new deals. In Liverpool specifically, these are difficult times – we’re a destination again, but we need to keep visitor numbers up.”
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Business
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To infinity and beyond
Space-themed Wirral visitor attraction Spaceport has seen visitor numbers rocket from 47,500 between January and the end of August last year to 87,500 in the same period in 2008, an increase of 84 per cent. Councillor Mark Dowd, chairman of Merseytravel, which owns and operates Spaceport, said: "When the idea for Spaceport was conceived we never fully expected it to take off like it has." The Art of Doctor Who exhibition, which is running at Spaceport until January, has been a particular boost for the attraction. 
Christmas the key for IRC
In its half-year results, Individual Restaurant Company, the parent group of Piccolino and Restaurant Bar & Grill, has cut its losses before tax from £157,000 to £83,000. Revenues climbed 21 per cent to £24m and the group remains on track to open seven new venues in the year. Chief executive Steven Walker said: "These are creditable results in what remain testing times. The underlying fundamentals of the eating out market remain attractive over the medium term. Both Piccolino and Restaurant Bar & Grill continue to perform resiliently. As always the Christmas period will be all important."
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Property
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Plans still on for King Edward site
Y1 Developments and Richmont Properties, the developer behind Liverpool’s King Edward tower, is pressing ahead with plans and hope to submit a planning application by the end of 2008, despite the economic downturn and decline of the city living sector. Insider understands that changes have been made to the original plans, although the mix of uses – apartments, 25,000 sq ft of offices and 7,500 sq ft of retail and leisure – will remain the same.
RICS says house price gap is growing
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors says house sellers are now accepting an average of 10 per cent less than asking prices. Eighty-two per cent of North West surveyors reported that the gap between asking and selling prices is still widening. Regional spokesperson Ian Perry, managing director of Harvest Housing, said: "With housing transactions currently at a 30-year low, vendors are being forced to lower their asking prices. The gap could widen as the economic downturn becomes more visible."
Best feet forward
Footwear retailer Deichmann Shoes has acquired a retail outlet in Liverpool city centre, its UK flagship store. The UK arm of the European retailer has taken the former Sports World unit on Paradise Street in Liverpool, comprising 10,290 sq ft set over three floors on a 15-year lease at a rent equivalent to £203,000 per annum. The store opened its doors on 18 September and is situated opposite the entrance to Grosvenor's Liverpool One scheme. The deal, advised by DTZ, follows hot on the heels of Deichmann's acquisitions of stores in Birkenhead, Cheshire Oaks, Manchester and Lend Lease's Golden Square in Warrington.
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Events
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Dates for your diary this week
The dinner season is back in full swing and Friday sees the Merseyside Young Professionals take their annual shindig to the BT Convention Centre with a Venetian masquerade theme - masks available for purchase on the night. And lunch time on Friday offers the opportunity to warm up with a three-course meal courtesy of the Federation of Small Businesses’ Culture of Business event at the Hard Days Night Hotel, with guest speaker Phil Redmond. Liverpool One opens its second phase this week and Wednesday night features a grand opening celebration, complete with fireworks finale. On the cultural agenda, the Le Corbusier exhibition opens in The Crypt of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral on Thursday and there’s a 20ft neon rabbit hanging off the tower of St James Church in Toxteth as part of the Liverpool Biennial.
Businesses gather for The Liverpool Summit
Over 800 captains of industry from across the country will be gathering for The Liverpool Summit at the BT Convention Centre on Wednesday and Thursday this week. The flagship business event of Liverpool 08 will feature workshops and presentations from seven of the world’s top business minds, including former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, Harvard Business School’s Clayton Christensen, Tesco’s Terry Leahy and Renée Mauborgne of INSEAD. The Summit Expo will include exhibitors such as business schools and management development experts.
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Contact Us
Insider
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17-21 Chorlton Street
Manchester
M1 3HY
Telephone: +44 (0)161 907 9711
Email:
nw@insiderdaily.co.uk
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