For a brand, a London store is a statement before it is a square-footage decision. We advise retail occupiers, and only occupiers, on where to be in London, how to secure the right premises, and how to exit the wrong ones. For investors and businesses we bring the same approach to commercial property: access to opportunities on and off the market, and the attention of a boutique rather than the process of a large firm.
The building next to the existing store had not been marketed. We approached the owner directly, negotiated the purchase off-market and assembled the two into the flagship Prada wanted on the street it wanted.
Which street, which side, which neighbours, and in what order. Bond Street, Sloane Street, Mayfair, Marylebone, Covent Garden and Soho each say something different about a brand. We map the options against the brand’s position, its customer and its expansion plan, and give a clear recommendation.
Identifying the premises, including those that are not being marketed; negotiating the lease, premium and incentives; and managing the transaction through to completion and handover for fit-out. Where a flagship requires assembling or consolidating adjoining units, we structure and run the whole process.
Rent reviews and lease renewals for stores you keep; assigning, subletting or surrendering the ones that no longer fit; and reviewing a London portfolio so that the estate matches the strategy rather than the history.
Fashion, luxury, leisure, hospitality and travel retail, with a particular strength in Italian and other European houses making London their first international market, and in fast-growing international brands opening their first UK stores.
Prada · Miu Miu · Vivienne Westwood · Furla · Fausto Puglisi · E. Marinella
Brandy Melville · Liu Jo · Stefanel
Restaurant, café and bar groups, including a seven-site portfolio assembled across central London for a single operator.
Most retail agents in London are paid by landlords, and their advice is shaped accordingly. We do not take landlord instructions. When we tell a brand that a unit is wrong, or that the rent is high, or that the better option is a street it had not considered, there is no other client whose interest is being served.
Stations, arcades & market halls · Food & beverage
For a long time commercial investment in central London was run by a small circle of agents guarding the door. Our networks and our appetite for deal-making open it: access to opportunities on and off the market, and a boutique consultancy that gives each client the attention a larger firm cannot.
Investment acquisition: identification, negotiation and due diligence on freehold and leasehold assets.
Development feasibility: assessing sites and existing buildings for redevelopment or refurbishment.
Asset value: improving the performance of a holding in the light of current market conditions.
Property finance: introductions and structuring through our relationships with major financial institutions.
Occupier advisory: unlocking latent value in the premises a business already holds, and acquiring the ones it needs — offices as well as stores.
Transaction advisory: creative deal-making across the transaction, from structure to completion.
Institutions, property companies, private and overseas investors, developers and corporate occupiers, buying and holding freehold and leasehold property in London’s prime locations. Recent instructions include a self-contained building in Belgravia for a listed company, an investment property in Victoria for a Swiss family office, a flagship Mayfair property for an Italian luxury fashion house, and a West End portfolio for a private investor.
By assuming the process works as it does at home. London leases, premiums, rent reviews and the role of the landlord’s agent are all different, and the best units are secured through relationships rather than enquiries. Brands that arrive with a local occupier-side adviser avoid expensive first mistakes.
Opportunities on the prime streets are rare and almost never advertised, which is exactly why they need an adviser who is in the market every day. We have secured and consolidated flagship premises for luxury houses in Mayfair, including off-market. Whether it is achievable for a given brand depends on timing and covenant, and we will tell you plainly.
We act for the party acquiring or occupying: investors buying, and occupiers taking or improving space. We do not run landlord letting instructions, which is why our advice on price and terms is not compromised by the other side of the deal.
A building or unit sold or let without public marketing, usually through direct approach or a small number of trusted advisers. Many of the best central London assets trade this way. Access depends on relationships built over years, which is what a boutique adviser brings.
Yes. We regularly act for overseas investors and family offices, and coordinate the legal, tax and financing parties in the UK so that the transaction is coherent from the client’s point of view rather than a series of separate conversations.
Call us on +44 (0)20 3951 3624, or send us your brief in confidence.
