Colchester - Ultra Ready for Business

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13 Why We’re Backing Colchester
We’re backing Colchester because of the
town’s potential for future growth, which is
driving occupier demand in 2016. Retailers
looking to expand in the South East benefit
from Colchester’s affluent catchment, its dominant location
and loyal customer following.
Rupert Milne, Asset Manager, M&G Real Estate, owners of
Culver Square Shopping Centre
The last few years have seen the
expansion of independent specialist
or ‘boutique’ smaller cinemas.
These offer a higher quality of experience with an enhanced
provision of food and drink. As one of the market leaders
in this sector, Curzon selects locations to ensure that they
fit in with our brand values revolving around a quality film
experience and a memorable evening out. Colchester has
been identified as a big opportunity to position an upmarket,
stylish cinema alongside complimentary restaurants in a
vibrant and creative cultural quarter of an expanding city.
This will be the first Curzon cinema in the East of England,
strongly boosting Colchester’s wider attractiveness as a
regional centre of arts and culture.
Robert Kenny, Director of Cinema Development,
Curzon Cinemas
Colchester Borough Council’s vision for the
Northern Gateway provides a coherent and
sustainable strategy that will see the area
developed in partnership with best-in-class
commercial operators – a strategy that
David Lloyd Leisure was confident to invest in.
Paul Guyer, Group Property Director, David Lloyd Leisure
From humble beginnings as the stable
yard to a medieval coaching inn, the
historic Red Lion Yard has seen many
changes over the centuries. It now forms
part of a popular circular shopping route
through town and is home to more than 40 of Britain’s top
retail brands, including Marks & Spencer, Topshop, Top Man,
River Island, New Look, Boots and WH Smith.
The former owners of Lion Walk acquired Red Lion Yard
in October 2013 and work on a £600,000 refurbishment
commenced almost immediately. Now an attractive boutique
and café quarter, the small boutiques in Red Lion Yard are
home to a range of independent retailers.
Lion Walk provides us with an opportunity to secure a good
quality shopping centre located in the prime pitch within
Colchester. The town is forecast to see above average
population growth over the next decade. The scheme is
already well let however we see further potential to improve
the tenant mix and increase rents following the opening of
Primark next year.
Tom Gamble, Director, CBRE GI
Having analysed Colchester’s demographics
against the current cinema offering, we
could see that Colchester’s potential offered
the right location for one of our regional
destination multiplex cinemas. The Northern
Gateway’s focus on sport and leisure and location next to the A12
is a perfect fit for our new next generation cinema experience.
Kevin Frost, Property Director, Cineworld.
We have run our business, Whybrow
Chartered Surveyors in Colchester
for over 30 years and the town is
truly a great and inspiring place to work and to grow, where its
people are generous and driven and where opportunity exists
to truly flourish. We would not want to have our head office
anywhere else.
Ewan Dodds BSc FRICS, Chief Executive Officer, Whybrow
Chartered Surveyors
Colchester is a council that has consistently
delivered in housing. We were impressed
with the ambition of the team who showed
they have the confidence and capability to
do business and get more homes on the
ground. We were delighted to award them a
well-deserved Housing Business Ready status.
Natalie Elphicke OBE, Chief Executive, The Housing &
Finance Institute
£35m
NEW
Fenwick’s
store
£4.2m
NEW Creative
Business
Centre
£137m
NEW sport,
leisure and business
destination
£250m
at the
University
of Essex
Colchester: £3bn investment in
regeneration:
Colchester is going places.
The Economic Growth team can help with plans for
growth, relocation and skills. We work in partnership
with you to help you with your business decisions
through our network of connections. It’s an exciting
time in Colchester, join us on the journey. Find out
more
Cool
culture, heritage,
shops, restaurants,
cafes, bars, sport, leisure,
countryside, coast –
In the Top 100 Best
Places to Live in Britain.
Connected
Ultrafast 1Gb
broadband for
Business delivering
world class
connectivity in
the town centre
Accessible
60 minutes takes you to
London via the A12/M25
and rail, Harwich
International Port, London
Stansted Airport, London
City Airport, London
Southend Airport.
Excellent
University of Essex is in
the top 2% of universities
in the world and in
top 20 in the UK for
research excellence. High
performing state and
independent schools.
Creative
town is ranked 8th
nationally for its
creativity and is one
of 7 Cultural and
creative hubs in
the SELEP area
Competitive
Cost of living
in London is:
£4,500pa, the
equivalent in
Colchester
is £2,806
Resilient
Key sectors for growth
identified: creative &
digital, finance & business
support services, advanced
manufacturing, tourism,
retail, construction, health
& care, alternative energy
and logistics