Barrack Lane Residential and Retail Quarter in Cardiff, part of St David’s Dewi Sant Shopping Centre, is nearing full occupancy, with 85% of the retail space having now been let and just two units remaining.
Seven of the nine units in the 5,000 square foot retail development have been taken, with its proximity to Cardiff’s major retail shopping centre and the new Admiral headquarters on Bridge Street generating significant interest in the marketplace.
Barrack Lane is a £3.5million development owned and managed by Linc-Cymru, which comprises 27 fully let affordable residential apartments, together with the nine retail units. Operating Barrack Lane as a social enterprise, Linc’s vision is to provide high-quality landlord services to its residential and retail tenants with commercial leases on flexible terms that provide new businesses with the best possible opportunity to be successful.
Current tenants include a diverse mix of businesses, many of whom cited the potential offered by Admiral, as a key factor in choosing the location.
The new headquarters of the insurance giant will house around 3500 staff, all on Barrack Lane’s doorstep. The construction of the FTSE-100 company’s new Cardiff headquarters is one of Wales’ largest ever commercial developments. The building is expected to be completed this summer, with staff levels at full capacity by Christmas.
Barrack Lane’s joint letting agents, DTZ and EJ Hales, are now inviting interest in the remaining two units. Andrew Gibson, associate director at DTZ, said: “These final two units are the last opportunity for prospective tenants to secure a place in what has proved to be a very popular scheme. The combination of city centre location, reasonable occupational costs and, of course, the potential influx of footfall once Admiral opens its doors later this year is very attractive. We are expecting strong interest and I am confident that the units will not stay vacant for long.”
Several tenants have already noticed an increase in customer numbers as awareness of Barrack Lane begins to grow. Ed Jones, who owns Magic Wrap, which opened in Barrack Lane in November 2013, said: “Having successfully established Magic Wrap among Cardiff’s student population, we were searching for the right city centre location from which to diversify our client base and target the general public.
“Barrack Lane is an up and coming, affordable area and provides excellent potential for business growth. The prospect of being adjacent to both the St David’s shopping centre and Admiral’s new headquarters was an opportunity not to be missed.
“In the short time since we have been trading at Barrack Lane, locating here has proved to be a great decision. Customer numbers and awareness that we are here have grown steadily, and we are confident that 3,500 extra people on our doorstep will continue to boost footfall on Barrack Lane when Admiral opens.”
Robert Smith, chief executive of Linc, said: “Barrack Lane is now established as a great place to live and work in the City Centre. Our aim from the outset was to provide the environment for local independent businesses to thrive by offering flexible leases and affordable rents. Our intention is to own Barrack Lane for years to come and thus having a diverse range of complementary tenants is very important to us. I expect the 2 remaining units to attract a lot of interest.”
The most recent tenant to open at Barrack Lane is real ale bar and bottle shop, The Gravity Station. It joins eateries The Grazing Shed and Bramina, as well as two hair salons, Lollipop Children’s Hair Boutique and Rapture.
For further information about rental opportunities at Barrack Lane, please contact DTZ (02920 262246) or EJ Hales (02920 347111).
