Carter Jonas’s south west commercial team has secured two new retail occupiers at The Depot, Bampfylde Street, Exeter, comprising more than 6,000 sq ft of space.

The Depot is an exciting new mixed-use scheme located in the heart of the city centre, owned and developed by London based Mace Developments. Construction of Phase one recently completed, including 601 student beds provided via a selection of high-quality en-suites, studios and penthouses - more than 70 per cent of which are booked for the start of the academic year - and seven commercial units on the ground floor comprising 20,065 sq ft.

The Co-op, one of the UK's most recognised food retailers, will shortly be fitting out unit three having secured a new 15-year lease on 4,801 sq ft for a convenience store which occupies a prominent position on the corner of Cheeke Street and Belgrave Road, close to the Vue Cinema.

Terms have also been agreed on a 10-year lease for unit five, comprising 1,593 sq ft off the corner of Cheeke Street and Bampfylde Street, to a restaurant operator.

Stuart Williams, Partner, Carter Jonas said: “The Depot is a landmark development with a focus on modern student living and connectivity and we are extremely pleased to welcome the Co-op to the development. Agreeing terms with the restaurant on unit five is also a good fit. The retail space provides a great opportunity to provide for the large numbers of students at The Depot and close by, as well as residents in the area, particularly given its ideal location near the central bus station and seven screen VUE cinema. The benefits for both occupiers will only increase once the construction of the state-of-the-art new leisure complex and new Exeter Bus Station opposite completes next year.”

“With lockdown restrictions easing, we have seen growing interest in the remainder of units, which, thanks to the range of sizes available, should prove popular with a mixture of retail, leisure, and health and beauty operators from local independents to leading brands. With phase two of the scheme now under construction, we expect interest to only increase over the coming months.”

Phase two of The Depot is underway and should be ready to hand over in early 2021. This will provide an additional 114 bedrooms and four additional ground floor commercial units totalling 3,541 sq ft.

Planning has been granted for a variety of uses on all the ground floor units to include A1 (retail), A2 (financial & professional services), A3 (restaurant), A4 (bars), B1 (offices), D1 (health centres, creches, day nurseries) and D2 (leisure, gyms etc) consents. Targeted uses include café/coffee, baker, gym, hairdressers/beauty, bars, restaurants and specialist retailers such as cycle shops.

CRM Students is managing the student residential lettings and Carter Jonas is the sole commercial agent on the scheme.