Orchard Street lets 10,000 sq ft at St Catherine's Walk, Carmarthen

Orchard Street Investment Management, the specialist commercial property investment manager, announces the letting of around 10,000 sq ft of retail space on a 25 year lease to Mitchells & Butlers at St Catherine’s Walk shopping centre in Carmarthen. The restaurant operator’s first dual operation with a Harvester Restaurant planned for the ground floor and a Toby Carvery on the first floor is scheduled to open in December.

Julia Poulson, head of development at Mitchells & Butlers said:

"Although they are standalone businesses, this will represent our first dual outlet in a retail environment, incorporating two of our successful brands. Both are more traditionally associated with suburban locations, but the development of St Catherine’s Walk and Carmarthen as a major retail and leisure destination represents a tremendous opportunity for both brands and the Company as a whole."

Richard Walters of Orchard Street Investment Management, who manages the centre together with joint venture partners, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, commented: ‘There was a lot of demand and representation from restaurant operators, no doubt because of the enormous success of Apollo and the existing restaurants, as well as the major new retailers that we have introduced to Carmarthen at St Catherine’s Walk. The opportunity to accommodate two of Mitchells & Butlers’ leading restaurant brands was irresistible’.

The Harvester and Toby Carvery restaurants will trade alongside the new Apollo cinema, the first all digital cinema in Europe, and other food retail outlets including Frankie & Benny’s, Pizza Express and Costa. Over the course of the summer St Catherine’s Walk added H&M, East and Lush to its existing line up of retail tenants that includes Debenhams, Next, New Look, Topshop, River Island, Fat Face and Cotswold Republic.

Richard Walters continued: ‘Within just a year of opening we have let 94% of the total floor space to major retail brands. Only 4 units remain unoccupied and we expect to be able to announce further exciting lettings soon. St Catherine’s Walk really has transformed the retailing and leisure offer in Carmarthen, elevating the town to the status of a significant sub-regional shopping and leisure centre’.

Mitchells & Butlers was represented by EJ Hales, and the letting agents were DTZ in London and I Metcalfe & Co in Cardiff.