Consumers are often more savvy in their actions than the outlets that serve them. Changing tastes and expectations pose a challenge. Something we view as an opportunity. Being environmentally responsible is no longer an option – it’s a necessity.
We are impelled to go beyond mere regulations and instead fully embrace the changing times we live in. We want to see change that is powerful and beneficial to everyone.
Redevelopment as an alternative to building from scratch.
With available land at a premium and the ongoing efforts to contain urban sprawl, declining shopping centres and retail parks offer a great opportunity for redevelopment and renewal.
However, restructuring already outdated complexes that were built just a few decades ago calls for a responsible approach to construction.
For each of our projects, we aim for high-quality architecture that aligns with its surroundings and represents a break from the haphazard visuals of earlier suburban landscapes.
Sustainable construction
Our goal is to go a step further than the regulations and deliver the first energy-plus buildings by 2025.
We will achieve this by using materials that have high thermal efficiency, are 100% recyclable and recovered from demolition.
Roofs and awnings that are all vegetated or covered with photovoltaic panels.
Parking areas will no longer be waterproofed, but will instead feature permeating paving stones and collection drains in order to enable reuse of rainwater.
Green parking areas that are also outwardly visible.
An ever-expanding space to recharge electric cars and bikes.
Over the longer term, we plan to make significant investment from year 5 onwards to keep our centres at the highest standard.
Contributing to the local economy.
From the construction phase onwards, we will give preference to local firms and contribute to the local economy by engaging local firms.
We are entering an era of the calm, « 15-minute » city, where long journeys become less necessary as dedicated living spaces pop up across urban areas.
While regional shopping centres will continue to be popular for needs like major household equipment and furnishings, local solutions will be necessary for everyday shopping.
For this reason, we design our shopping centres so as not to diminish the city-centre economy, but instead to strengthen it by enhancing its appeal.
Retailers are encouraged to source and recruit locally.
We will meet the growing demand for new services by making our parking facilities available 24 hours a day to accommodate online retail, providing collection boxes for Amazon and other retailers.
We are also providing more cash points which have become increasingly few and far between.
Building a long-term presence for second-hand/pre-owned retail.
Maintaining asustainable and responsible relationship with retailers.
By offering high-quality sites, retailers can trade in an environmentally sustainable setting, in line with their own corporate strategy.
And at a time when businesses face the growing need to be agile, we will include spaces for pop-up stores that look set to become increasingly popular, thereby updating what the centre has to offer every week.
We will trial flexible leases and move on from the concept of fixed-term leases which, although beneficial for institutional investors, often cause issues if a leaseholder runs into difficulties.
While the old wisdom of 6 or 10-year leases appears reassuring to lessors, they can ultimately have negative repercussions by making long-term commitments less attractive to struggling retailers, which has a knock-on effect on the trading conditions of the centre as a whole.
We are considering a fully flexible lease arrangement of 3, 6, 9 or 10 years to benefit leaseholders with a three-month notice period if the retail operation underperforms.
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