2 New Lettings See The Crown Estate Progress St James’s Transformation
May 25, 2012
The Crown Estate has today announced two new lettings in St Jamess as part of its £500 million investment to transform the area. Ahead of the Olympics, French luxury shoe maker JM Weston will open a flagship store on Jermyn Street, and Italian restaurant group San Carlo will open Cicchetti at 215 Piccadilly, just yards from Piccadilly Circus and adjoining The Crown Estates £100 million St Jamess Gateway redevelopment scheme.
Anthea Harries, The Crown Estates Portfolio Manager for St Jamess said: Our ongoing investment in St Jamess is already delivering significant results; the arrival of JM Weston to Jermyn Street, and Cicchetti to Piccadilly helps us further cement the areas position as one of Londons premier retail and dining destinations.
San Carlo, the award-winning family run business, is taking a 2,750 sq ft unit on a 15-year lease, at an undisclosed rent. The group was established in 1992, operates internationally in capital cities across the globe and has 10 restaurants UK-wide. Five years ago it also acquired the famous Signor Sassi in Knightsbridge, London.
Group Chairman Carlo Distefano, said: We are expanding rapidly as a group and have been looking for many years to find exactly the right place to open a new London flagship restaurant. St Jamess is right for us because of its unrivalled reputation for quality, combined with the huge potential for growth offered by The Crown Estates investment plan.
In June JM Weston will begin fit out at 60 Jermyn Street, an 800 sq ft of ground floor space and 900 sq ft of basement space, on a 12 year lease.
Eric Vallat, J.M. Weston C.E.O, said: It is a great honour for J.M. Weston to establish its distinguished spirit in St Jamess, Jermyn Street, home of British elegance and know-how. As a French master shoemaker, we are proud to sit alongside other such respected artisans and luxury houses.
The French retailer was a favourite of former French Presidents Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac, who both favoured the Weston loafer, and Westons punched Oxford style shoe with a thick sole became so closely associated with Giscard dEstaing that it is now known as the Giscard.
As the largest owner of freehold property in the core West End, The Crown Estate has made substantial progress in St Jamess in the last 18 months. It recently announced that Philippe Le Rouxs Villandry will be moving into Trafalgar House, in Waterloo Place, to establish a high calibre flagship restaurant. It has also acquired over £150 million of new property interests as part of its strategy to secure host of high profile retail and restaurant lettings.
Cushman and Wakefield and Davis Coffer Lyons acted for The Crown Estate.
