Commercial property: Discount seller reaches out

Ryden has been appointed to drive a premises expansion scheme by the discount retailer, Poundstretcher, in Scotland and the North of England.

The Edinburgh-based company will be part of a four-agency acquisition team, which also comprises APB Chartered Surveyors (English Midlands), Strutt & Parker (London and the South) and Lisney (Northern Ireland and Eire). Strutts will manage and oversee the entire portfolio.

"Effectively we will be looking after everything from Sheffield upwards," said John Conroy, a partner based in Ryden's Glasgow office. "Being appointed by Poundstretcher is a great triumph for us, and we are certain that we can maximise the brief to its full potential."

In what looks a clear sign of the times, Poundstretcher has expanded from 325 to 500 stores in the British Isles within two years. Forty of them are in Scotland, from Inverness to Dumfries. The only towns of any appreciable size where Poundstretcher currently does not have a presence north of the border are Paisley, East Kilbride, Motherwell and Dumbarton.

"What number they get up to north of the Border after this acquisition drive is pretty much an unknown quantity," Conroy continued. "We will be very flexible at what we look at within the space parameters of 5,000 to 15,000 sq ft, and all locations will be considered."

Earlier this year the similar-sounding Poundland took possession of the giant former Woolworths store in Glasgow city centre, a move which signalled that well-structured budget retailers were now considered a good covenant by property owners in prime locations.

Also on the acquisition trail is Target Parking, a car park and facilities management operator, which has appointed Lambert Smith Hampton to seek new opportunities north of the Border.

Target Parking manages car park sites for third parties including retail parks, shopping centres, station car parks and city centre sites. Despite the brand name, the company's CEO, Emma Sinclair, is not someone to stand still. A former investment banker, at the age of 27 she became the youngest woman to float a company on the London Stock Exchange. Earlier this year, she featured as one of Management Today's "35 Women under 35" most likely to influence future financial and economic life in the UK.

She said: "While already having a presence in Scotland, we are committed to expanding on this. We are eager to procure new management contracts, replace existing operators where we can add value or make outright acquisitions of real estate with parking at its core."

Meanwhile, Jones Lang LaSalle has been appointed by Ignis Real Estate to manage the new flagship HSBC bank at 2-8 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, on behalf of the landlord, UK Commercial Property Trust.

The bank recently signed a 15-year lease on the basement, ground and first floors after a multi-million pound refit of the B-listed building.