Kells Lane Nisa transformed to a One Stop Store following sale

Situated opposite the local school, in an area of high-density housing, this popular village store enjoys high turnover from local residents and passing trade.

The previous owner, Mr Stevie Barratt has built the store into an excellent business over the years by combining the butchers, off licence and newsagents into one shop.  He decided to sell the leasehold interest in order to spend more time with his family but also to focus on running his local pub business on the high street.

He comments, “The time was right for me to hand over the reins to a new operator but I wanted to retain the freehold interest in the property, which is why, following the advice of Andy Birnie at Christie & Co, I decided to create the new lease. Christie & Co have sold other stores in the local area so I knew they would help me find a suitable tenant.”

The leasehold has been acquired by One Stop Stores Ltd, part of the Tesco group. One Stop was attracted to the property as they are currently focusing on expanding their presence in the North East and other parts of the UK by acquiring high turnover, quality convenience stores. An exciting new range of stock and a new fit out of the premises will be carried out to further improve the range of services available to the local community.

A One Stop spokesperson said, “Kells Lane, Gateshead is the perfect location to expand our store portfolio and we look forward to serving the local community. Alongside well-known brands, the new store will stock One Stop’s Own Label range, which offers everything from fresh produce to household essentials. Customers will also be able to take advantage of various meal deals, snacks and soft drinks or stock up on grocery essentials.

“The store will be open Monday to Sunday, 6am until 10pm and customers will benefit from an internal cash machine, the National Lottery, Paypoint services, Costa Coffee, f’real, Tango Ice Blast and Robinsons Slush.”

Andy Birnie, Director in Christie & Co’s Retail team handled the sale and adds, “We marketed this store in a confidential manner as requested by our client Mr Barratt, targeting known quality buyers. Since Mr Barratt wanted to create a new lease and therefore investment, the quality of the tenant was important to protect his long-term security.” 

“We received numerous offers from individuals and groups, including of course One Stop the actual purchaser,” he continued. “As usual, it was buyers from the south that showed most interest and our network of offices across the UK helped us to secure the right tenant. We are overrun with buyers seeking convenience stores with turnover of £20,000 plus per week, so it’s a great time to consider selling. Thank you to Gordon Brown Clarke Mairs Solicitors who acted for our client preparing the complicated legal work, contract and new lease.”

Nisa Kells Lane was sold on a leasehold basis for an undisclosed sum.

For further information on this press release, contact:
Bronte Hughes, Corporate Communications Executive
P: 020 72270794 or E: bronte.hughes@christie.com

Contact the agent:
Andrew Birnie, Director – Retail
P: +44 (0) 7734 553 272
E: Andrew.birnie@christie.com

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