THE DETAILS:

LANDLORD NAME: SAVILLS 

START DATE: 12 AUG 2020

END DATE: 31 JAN 2021

PREMISES RELET: 16 WEEKS

Debenhams in Wandsworth was a first on so many levels. No organisation had ever taken on a vacant retail space of this magnitude, nor coordinated so many different charitable causes to create such an effective collective operation. All of this against the backdrop of a global pandemic and the worst economic crisis in a generation.

Savills moved very quickly following the announcement of the store’s closure to find the best way to help their client, Landsec, reduce their costs while maintaining an attractive going concern. Inevitably Wandsworth Council and Rosena Allin Khan, MP came under considerable pressure from the local community and businesses. Everyone was acutely aware that prolonged uncertainty would significantly undermine business confidence in the area.

The Rainbow Rising formula is completely scalable and this fact is undoubtedly one of the reasons why it has worked so well on a department store scale. Our team worked very carefully to identify not just any charities that were interested but those that were the best fit, most reliable and likely to offer the collective group the greatest range of benefits. We thoroughly briefed these organisations about their responsibilities, realistically managed their expectations and above all informed them of the fact that they would need to vacate the premises swiftly when a new, permanent tenant was found.

We brought together a solid group of reliable charitable organisations to create an exciting indoor market of professional pop-up concessions across all floors. The resulting transformation was a vibrant going concern with huge appeal across the whole spectrum – the general public, local businesses, local government, the landlord and letting agent, Savills alike. An outstanding success all round and one that the whole Rainbow Rising team is understandably immensely proud of. The premises were relet in a record 3 months at a time when arguably the market was at its most depressed and the other 120+ Debenhams stores remained vacant. Enough said.

If you want to see more examples of how we can populate and transform vast empty spaces (retail or office), reduce costs, and optimise your capacity to find a suitable permanent occupier – get in touch today.

“This was a huge collective success in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, which could not have been achieved without Rainbow Rising!  “

Tim Leatham, Director, Savills