As we approach the end of the calendar year, Founding Director David Rawlinson reflects on a busy twelve months in the restaurant property industry and looks ahead to a business-expanding 2016 and beyond.
A Booming Year for the Restaurant Industry
In the restaurant property industry, the overwhelming theme of 2015 has been the seemingly never-ending desire from leisure property landlords to take on bold, exciting restaurant concepts particularly in Central London.
We are in the height of a boom-time for the industry after what was a tough couple of years following the recession in 2008. In 2015, property owners have appeared more willing than ever to take on strong restaurant concepts in preference to proven brands and operators.
The growing tide of optimism and daring we have seen this year was fuelled by Allegra Foodservice predictions that the industry would grow to an annual value of £52bn by 2017. What we are now seeing is restaurant landlords and operators wanting to take as big a slice of that market growth as possible.
2015’s Restaurant Winners
One such restaurant is Sexy Fish. It is fantastic to see audacious concepts like Sexy Fish become so popular with daring menus and statement YBA art installations. If bold concepts like this can continue to succeed, 2016 will be an exciting year for the London restaurant industry.
This year several hot young restaurant chains have really pressed on and expanded their brand across the city. After we tipped them both as two of London’s hottest young brands this summer, both Patty & Bun and Porky’s BBQ have successfully opened their fourth branches.
After a strong year, Patty & Bun thoroughly deserve their coveted Old Compton Street location, while Porky’s have opened up their fourth branch in Crouch End. We excitedly speculate over which restaurant concepts will be popular in 2016.
2015 at Restaurant Property
2015 has been an expansive year at Restaurant Property. We have brought in new team members and have been taken on to work on some key London property developments: some of the most exciting developments in the city.
This autumn we were happy to announce that we are now advising on property available in the Angel Central shopping centre in Islington for CBRE Global Investors. This is a fantastic opportunity to create a flourishing cluster of quality, successful restaurants in the heart of Angel’s cultural and commercial hub.
Our work this year has also laid the foundations for a strong performance in 2016, as we consult with Stanhope on the exciting White City Place project. This development will open up 2,000,000 sq ft of mixed use space on the former site of the BBC’s White City One, Media Centre and Garden House buildings. We go to market with these properties in the new year and cannot wait to get started.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the whole team for their excellent work over the past twelve months. As we look forward to a 2016 full of great opportunities and exciting new projects, the success of Restaurant Property is secured by the meticulous and enthusiastic work of everyone in our team, at every level of the company.
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