If you’ve travelled around London you may have spotted one of many of the amazing businesses located inside our stations. We caught up with Gareth from our in-station retail team to find how they’re renovating empty retail spaces for new tenants. ๐
What does the in-station retail team do?
Formed just weeks before the first national lockdown, weโre responsible for all the retail units inside our stations. We help to improve station ambiance and keep the wheels of retail turning. ๐
We manage over 800 properties whilst working with our TfL colleagues to develop additional opportunities for retail. As well as generating revenue for the business, the work weโre doing creates jobs for London and enhances the customer experience.
What have the team been working on lately?
Across the network there are sometimes empty units in our stations that are vacant and ready to be let to new retailers after being renovated. During the first six months of Station Retail’s existence, our team worked hard to identify and physically locate all of our empty units. To do this we used historic documentation where site visits were not possible due to the pandemic.ย ๐
The team were also responsible for making sure that all of the identified units were fit for purpose and ready to be occupied by our new tenants. They might end up being your new favourite coffee shop! โ๏ธ๐ฅ
A project of this scale required significant precision, collaboration and a lot of document sourcing.ย ๐
What challenges did the team face?
Victory was no mean feat. As a new team we hadnโt had the opportunity to visit most sites in person before the national lockdown and were now working from home. ๐ก
Couple this with reliance on historical data and access issues during a global pandemic, even the simplest of tasks could become quite complex. ๐คฏ
Despite this, with hard work, persistence and cross-party teamwork we have reinstated 37 units within a six-month period.
These properties will now provide opportunities for new businesses of all shapes and sizes across the Transport for London estate. In fact, 14 of these are already under offer to exciting new retailers! ๐
What businesses can we expect to find in the void units?
When the project is complete, there will be plenty of new retailers to enjoy, including coffee shops, bubble tea houses, barbers and some must have treats! ๐
We’re very excited to welcome our new tenants, find out more about becoming one of our tenants and our other retail projects.
