Development of a £26 million garden centre. Working with Blooms of Bressingham, we acquired the 26-acre freehold garden centre, Bicester Garden Centre, with a turnover at the time of less than £2 million. We met directly with the planners and discussed our idea of creating a 100,000 sq ft garden centre. Working closely with our client, architects and planners, the Bicester Avenue concept was defined. Before construction had completed, we negotiated leases with retailers including Cotswold Outdoor, Hobbycraft, Laura Ashley and Lakeland. We then arranged to pre-sell 50% of the freehold interest to LaSalle Investment Management for £13 million.
Result: An award-winning retail development, arguably one of the most successful garden centre developments in the UK, valued at over £35 million.
