Capital secures burger chain for Great Northern

The success of the All Star Lanes bowling alley at Capital & Regional's Great Northern development in Manchester has helped to secure one new tenant and attracted firm interest from two further potential occupants, the group said today.

Providing an interim management statement for the period from Monday 31 December to Wednesday 15 May 2013, Capital said a 10 year lease for 8,700 sq ft had been signed by Almost Famous Burgers and that leases are being negotiated with a restaurant and a nightclub operator.

Capital confirmed in a trading update last year that it was attempting to sell the 500,000 sq ft former Great Northern Goods Warehouse and other non-core assets to focus on its Mall shopping centre business.

Other Great Northern tenants include AMC Cinema and the Manchester 235 Casino.

Great Northern is being marketed by CBRE for £75m.

Capital said that occupancy across its portfolio was up 0.9% year on year to 94.6%.

Footfall at its sites has outperformed the national index by 1.3% in the year to date, declining by 3.1% over the first four months of the year compared to a decline of 4.4% in the benchmark index.

The group said it secured 14 new lettings, generating £1.2m in rent, in the three months to March.

At The Mall in Blackburn, Debenhams has extended its store by 6,500 sq ft to a full range 95,000 sq ft store and Card Factory has taken a 2,700 sq ft unit.

Since Tuesday 30 April there has been a further 10-year letting to Schuh at Blackburn.

The group said it continues to make progress with its plans to dispose of non-core assets.

"We are currently progressing discussions surrounding a number of potential transactions and expect to be in a position to provide a further update in this regard around the time of our half year results," Capital said.