New retailers and restaurants for Albert Dock

Aberdeen Standard Investments have agreed five new leases as part of its vision for the iconic Albert Dock Liverpool, including a diverse mix of independent and national leisure, retail, restaurant and office tenants.

Rosa’s Thai Cafe and Lunyalita are the latest restaurateurs to sign for new 2,436 sq ft and 2,767 sq ft units, on a 15-year and 20-year (with 10-year break) lease respectively along the Grade I listed Britannia Pavilion. Due to open in early summer 2018, the restaurants represent progress in phase one of the repositioning of Albert Dock and will be the first of a number of new exciting operators currently under offer and to be announced in due course. The re-engagement with the city and wider region with an eclectic offering of retail, restaurants and leisure underpins the long-term vision for Albert Dock.

Adjacent to Lunyalita, Liverpool-based independent Leather Satchel Co, will see its store, that opened in December 2016, transform from a traditional retail outlet to an expanded and unique experiential offer called Hanshaw’s Leather Workshop – providing bespoke leather craft workshops. The 2,041 sq ft unit has been secured on a 10-year lease.

Alongside these occupiers, a new major leisure attraction Escape Hunt, “an interactive and intuitive real-life escape game,” similar in vein to the 90s’ TV show The Crystal Maze, will move into former office suites of approximately 2,800 sq ft on the mezzanine level of Atlantic Pavilion, on a 10-year lease. 

Following on from this, Aberdeen Standard are set to commence a refurbishment programme of vacant office suites and common parts along the mezzanine level of its ownership in order to attract a diverse range of office occupiers including start-ups seeking more flexible terms.

Chris Wright, portfolio manager at Aberdeen Standard Investments, said:

“Albert Dock is a world-class tourist attraction bringing a significant amount of footfall to our tenants, however, we are striving to create a year-round destination within the city that locals visit regularly and feel compelled to return to.

“We are currently working hard for 2018 to be the first realisation of our plans to reinvent the offer at Albert Dock, and we are proud to welcome all of these operators to kick-start this and breathe new life into the scheme.

“Signings such as these, along with those we are currently progressing with in legals give us confidence that our strategy is going in the right direction and represents an endorsement to creating a destination of choice within the city.

“Through a series of exciting upgrades and refurbishments to the ground floor and mezzanine around the Dock, we are starting to see strong demand emerge from exciting, progressive and emerging operators, either expanding within the north west region or from further afield.”

Rosa’s Thai Cafe currently has 11 venues in Central London, including prestigious locations such as Spitalfields, Soho, Carnaby, Chelsea and Brixton, with the Albert Dock venue being the restauranteur’s first location outside of the capital. The restaurant will be spread over two floors, retaining original features of the listed Dock in combination with an open theatre kitchen.

Lunyalita will be the first of this concept, following the success of award-winning restaurants in Liverpool and Manchester for the family-run independent. The unit will offer an eclectic mix of coffee, wine, deli and tapas at mezzanine level with unique views across the UNESCO World Heritage waterfront. Feeding into its deli operation, Lunyalita offers the UK’s largest online Spanish deli with over 1,300 different products.

For more info on what’s on at The Albert Dock head to the website here.