CBRE Investment Management’s London Retail Destination Builds Momentum after Strong 2023 Results

CBRE Investment Management has announced that its London retail and leisure destination, Angel Central, finished 2023 on a high, reporting a sales increase of 16% compared with 2022. The destination also had an increase in footfall of 6.4% compared to the national average of 2.9%*, and transactions rose by 4%.

The success comes as OFFICE, the fashion footwear specialist, recently announced the opening of its prominent 1,969 sq ft unit at the Upper Street entrance to Angel Central. The new space stocks a range of innovative shoe collections for style-conscious consumers, including brands such as Dr Martens, Nike, UGG, and adidas, as well as a selection of accessories.

Angel Central also introduced a refurbished store for long-standing tenant Accessorize, sitting adjacent to OFFICE. The new space was redesigned to enhance the customer journey with improved light fixtures and signage, creating a more inviting and appealing atmosphere.

Earlier in the year, Maven Leisure Ltd opened Northwood at the destination, marking Angel’s first purpose-built sports pub and kitchen. Northwood covers 3,600 sq ft on Angel Central’s first floor.

OFFICE and Accessorize are welcome additions to the scheme’s retail line-up, including anchor brands UNIQLO and H&M, alongside MUJI and Rituals.

Louisa Butters, Head of Retail Asset Management UK at CBRE Investment Management, said: “Angel Central continues to create opportunities for brands to thrive within Islington, with a strong community at its core and a quality offer of retail, F&B, and leisure. In 2023 the destination continued to flourish with new additions such as OFFICE, which carries a seamless and established omnichannel experience, an aspect we always strive to integrate into our scheme to make it as accessible and appealing for visitors as possible. Alongside Accessorize, these openings have meant that we have started 2024 in a strong position, with more to come to help Angel Central thrive.”

A spokesperson from OFFICE, commented on the opening: “Our London stores have always performed well within our portfolio, and it’s exciting to add Angel Central to the mix. It is a high-performing destination with a real community feel, delivering us with a prominent unit in a high footfall area. We are excited to showcase our collections of footwear to Islington and embedding ourselves within the destination.”

*Data obtained from ShopperTrak for the period of January to December 2023.

About CBRE Investment Management CBRE Investment Management is a leading global real assets investment management firm with $144.2 billion in assets under management* as of September 30, 2023, operating in more than 30 offices and 20 countries around the world. Through its investor-operator culture, the firm seeks to deliver sustainable investment solutions across real assets categories, geographies, risk profiles and execution formats so that its clients, people and communities thrive.

CBRE Investment Management is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2022 revenue). CBRE has approximately 115,000 employees (excluding Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE Investment Management harnesses CBRE’s data and market insights, investment sourcing and other resources for the benefit of its clients. For more information, please visit www.cbreim.com.

*Assets under management (AUM) refers to the fair market value of real assets-related investments with respect to which CBRE Investment Management provides, on a global basis, oversight, investment management services and other advice and which generally consist of investments in real assets; equity in funds and joint ventures; securities portfolios; operating companies and real assets-related loans. This AUM is intended principally to reflect the extent of CBRE Investment Management’s presence in the global real assets market, and its calculation of AUM may differ from the calculations of other asset managers and from its calculation of regulatory assets under management for purposes of certain regulatory filings.