Fortune Woods UK Ltd has acquired a 40,285 sq ft unit at Parc Busnes Edwards in Llantrisant after Cooke & Arkwright’s Business Space team negotiated the letting on behalf of the landlord.

Fortune Woods is a Welsh furniture manufacturer supplying 200 independent retailers across the UK with a range of solid oak and hardwood furniture made using traditional cabinet making techniques.

A new-build Burger King drive-thru restaurant under the management of Unionburger, a franchise of the fast food giant, has opened in a prime location fronting Ffordd Mileniwm Road in Barry Waterfront Retail Park.

The 2,750 sq ft new-build drive-thru in Barry has 70 covers and has created around 40 new jobs in the local community. This is Unionburger’s eleventh restaurant in South Wales, and it plans to open...

Wally’s, Cardiff’s best-known deli, has confirmed that it has renewed the lease on its long-established delicatessen and kaffeehaus in Royal Arcade, Cardiff. The lease had come to the end of its agreed term and Cooke & Arkwright negotiated the renewal with the landlord on Wally’s behalf.

Steven Salamon, the owner of Wally’s and son of its founder, Wally Salamon, said, "During lockdown we had to close at first due to the difficulty in securing supplies and to ensure the safety of our staff. Since reopening... 

The Westminster Government has asked for views on various aspects of the business rates system in England which is currently subject to a fundamental review. This is one of many reviews conducted by the UK Government over many years which have led to very little change in the fundamentals of the system.

Rating Director, Andrew West sits on the RICS Rating and Local Taxation Policy Group which provides impartial, balanced advice to the Government. He said, "One of the very few positive outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic is that it could initiate a real drive to reform the system for the better. The principal recommendations to Government made by the RICS are as follows:

Cooke & Arkwright’s Retail & Leisure team continue to work alongside Greggs plc in its shop acquisitions across South Wales.  Ten new sites were secured in 2019, six new shops have opened in the first six months of 2020, with another six new stores scheduled to open between now and the end of December. 

Whilst all Greggs shops across the UK closed during the Covid 19 lock down, which impacted sales, Greggs are nevertheless proceeding with the various pipeline projects for new openings for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021.

The Material Valuation Uncertainty Leaders Forum set up by the RICS have recommended a general “lifting” of Material Valuation Uncertainty clauses for “all UK real estate, excluding some assets valued with reference to trading potential”.

Cooke & Arkwright’s Retail & Leisure agency was named a Q2 2020 CoStar Awards Quarterly Deals winner. The award, which is in recognition of the ‘expertise and dedication of the UK’s top agents every quarter’, named Ben Davies’ deal in leasing the ground floor of Ocean Buildings in Bute Crescent, Cardiff Bay to craft brewer, Brew Monster in May.

Ben said, “This is Brew Monster’s second Tap House in the Cardiff region and is a valuable addition to Mermaid Quay. It opened once restrictions were eased in August and has traded well, especially given the current circumstances this sector is subject to. Delighted to have won the award and secure a letting during the lockdown period.”

Brew Monster are on the hunt for similar opportunities in the south Wales region. Of particular interest are quirky/non-standard sites that may suit a taproom and bar. For further information on their requirement, please contact Ben Davies.