Land Securities creates first-ever retail roster

Developer Land Securities has put together its first-ever formal roster for its retail portfolio, Design Week can reveal.

Those appointed to the retail roster include London group Next Big Thing (which has also been awarded the status of ‘lead among equals’), Leicester consultancy Untitled, Small Back Room, Leeds-based DS Emotion, Design House and Edinburgh group Tsuko, which is new to the client.

Johnson Banks has been retained for strategic design work. The groups were whittled down from a longlist of about 15, some of which have worked with Land Securities previously.

The news comes as some retail reports are predicting a difficult year ahead for the industry, with forecasts suggesting that one in seven UK retail spaces will be vacant by 2010.

Land Securities head of development marketing retail Tom Foulkes says, ‘We have a portfolio of prime retail property. The reports out last week are talking about the whole of retail – prime, sub-prime and secondary – and because of that, it’s not really applicable.

‘It will be a difficult year for retail, but it means we have to do our utmost to remain focused on our values.’

Formalisation of the design consultancies Land Securities works with has been driven by the property group’s desire to ensure consistent creative standards across marketing and visual communications for its retail portfolio.

Foulkes explains that previously a large number of consultancies was being used, but the work produced was not consistent enough and did not reflect the higher level of ‘creative excellence’ that he feels Land Securities has become known for over the past few years.

Land Securities directors, rather than its central marketing team, will award projects – ranging from total rebrands of shopping centres to promotional literature and websites – based on consul

tancies’ creative performance and merits. ‘The idea is to encourage creative competition,’ says Foulkes.

Land Securities portfolios:
• Land Securities is made up of three core businesses: retail, London portfolio and outsourcing business Trillium

• Its retail portfolio covers retail parks, shopping centres, outlets and developments across the UK, and was worth £7.1bn in 2008; the latest interim figures put a ‘pay-per-value’ on it of £5.5bn

• The group’s two formal design rosters are for the retail and London portfolios

• It has 1600 commercial retail tenants

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