BEWICHED COFFEE UNVEILS NEW OUTLET AT RUGBY’S SWAN CENTRE

Harris Lamb is delighted to welcome a new coffee offering to Rugby’s prime retail complex The Swan centre.

Midlands-based urban coffee chain Bewiched signed a new lease on Unit 5 at the centre during the pandemic, and having undertaken a soft opening, the outlet has been able to finally welcome visitors with the lifting of hospitality restrictions.

Harris Lamb manages the scheme on behalf of the landlord and acts as letting agents alongside Space Retail and Hartnell Taylor Cook.

Over the course of the pandemic, three lettings have been agreed at the Swan Centre, with two further occupiers currently undergoing fit-out in readiness for unveiling.

David Walton, Director of Harris Lamb’s Retail property services: “We are pleased to see some resilience in the retail and hospitality market in spite of the dreadful circumstances the sector has endured since March 2020. It shows that confident operators are still committing to good locations and good schemes.

“We have seen vacancies in the Swan Centre decline year on year and now have only two vacant units at the site. With a current vacancy rate of approximately 10 per cent, we are close to having a fully let centre in the coming weeks,” he said.

Rugby has long been a target for Bewiched, which currently operates 12 outlets throughout the East Midlands and the business was keen to occupy the Swan Centre unit to take advantage of being located within one of the most desired shopping destinations in the town and to become neighbours with retailers including The Entertainer, Costa, Millington Travel, Libertine Burger and Kaspas.

Martin Herbert, of joint agents SPACE Retail Property Consultants, said: “Bewiched is a great addition to an established and diverse tenant mix within the scheme.

“The last 12 months has encouraged people to shop local, and we have seen this to great effect at The Swan centre where we will shortly be able to announce further lettings to the retail and hospitality offer.”