Allied London Properties has let a 122 sq m (1,312 sq ft) unit in the recently refurbished Swan Centre in Leatherhead town centre to Next plc.

The deal follows negotiations to take back the lease on the former Brennans café, which was located adjacent to the existing Next store in the Swan Centre's Central Square.

The unit was re-let to the fashion/home retailer on a new 10 year lease. Next has expanded into the unit to create a new store totalling 446 sq m (4,800 sq ft).

Commenting on the deal, Allied London development director Neil Carron said:

"The deal represents a massive vote of confidence in Leatherhead and in our £2.5 million refurbishment of the Swan Centre by one of the UK's top fashion retailers. Recent deals within the centre have established a new Zone A rental tone of £388 per sq m (£36 per sq ft). It is a great way to start the New Year and, we hope, just the first of a series of deals to be signed in 2003.

"Combined with the news that preparatory works have started on our mixed use redevelopment of the adjacent Cornhill House/Burton House site, with new shops, an hotel and housing, this marks a major step forward for Leatherhead town centre."

Letting agents for the Swan Centre and the new redevelopment are Leslie Perkins and Donaldsons.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Linda Welch
Halogen
T: 020 7487 9191
E: linda@halogenuk.com

NOTES TO EDITORS
The Swan Centre in Leatherhead was built in 1981. Allied London Properties acquired the centre and the adjacent Burton House/Cornhill House site in 1998.

Swan Centre
In 2000, Allied London completed a £2.5 million refurbishment of the Swan Centre which included remodelling Central Square, creating a new store for Sainsbury's, new lighting, new ceiling finishes, the installation of CCTV and the upgrading of the multi-storey car park.

In December 2001, Allied London sold both the long leasehold in the new Sainsbury store (to a private Danish investment partnership) and the head lease of the Swan Centre to the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC). Allied London is retained to asset manage the Swan Centre on behalf of NILGOSC).

Burton House/Cornhill House

Allied London has been working up plans for its mixed use redevelopment of the 0.5 hectare (1.2 acre) Burton House/Cornhill House site since 1998.
The scheme comprises a new 90-bedroom Travelodge hotel, 72 private residential units and six affordable housing units being developed by The Grenville Homes Group and five new retail units (three facing onto the High Street and two fronting The Swan Centre).

ENDS

Corporate Statement
Allied London Properties is a major UK property company (owned by Deutsche Bank, JER Partners and management) with substantial investment and development projects in significant UK cities and towns, including; London, Manchester, Glasgow, Bracknell and Edinburgh.

Allied London's heartland is complex town and city centre mixed-use and retail redevelopment schemes, where it works with private and public sector organisations to deliver multi-faceted projects that combine creative vision with commercial rigour. A focused but innovative approach is applied to each location with the ultimate goal of creating value. In practical terms, this is achieved by repositioning a site through imaginative development and redevelopment, or through state-of-the-art refurbishment and change of use. All the company's schemes – as well as its own business philosophy – reflect the growing demands on cities to be dynamic, modern and sustainable environments.

The company currently has over 278,000 sq m (3 million sq ft) of real estate under ownership or management. Current development projects amount to in excess of a further 418,050 sq m (4.5 million sq ft), comprising office, retail, residential and leisure uses including London – 76,819 sq m (826,956 sq ft), Manchester – 278,000 sq m (3 million sq ft), Glasgow – 49,610 sq m (534,000 sq ft) and Bracknell – 139,354 sq m (1.5 million sq ft).

		© Allied London 2004 \| Disclaimer	Designed & Produced by Bostock and Pollitt