Wembley Park is set to expand its retail offering after award-winning developer Quintain signed leases on five new spaces – including one that will soon be home to a 30,000 sq ft “super gym”.
EQL Fitness, as the company will soon be known following a rebrand from its original name ‘3M Fitness’, already operates CrossFit Putney and is now set to significantly enhance its gym offering with the launch of a 29,187 sq ft facility in Wembley Park.
The new “super gym”, which will open onto Union Park – the neighbourhood’s first major new green space in decades – will feature a fully-fledged CrossFit studio on the lower-ground floor, which will also serve as an events space to be utilised by fitness brands and partners. The upper-ground floor will be home to a diverse range of gym equipment and spaces, including treadmills, free weights, a spin studio, a yoga room, a space with sauna and steam room and changing facilities.
EQL Fitness will be joined by a new Pilates concept El Estudio, which is set to take 1,970 sq ft, as well a bike repair shop Fix Your Cycle will take 1,389 sq ft. In addition, Quintain Living – which manages what will be the single-largest Build-to-Rent site in the UK – has signed a lease with Out of Office Coffee in its flagship Canada Gardens development.
Michael Thoburn, Co-founder of EQL Fitness, said: “Wembley Park is an iconic sporting destination, so, as a fitness business it felt like an unmissable opportunity to grow our business among other brilliant retail, leisure and lifestyle brands. With Wembley Park’s thousands of residents and workers, we can’t wait to grow our fitness community and become part of the fabric of one of London’s most exciting neighbourhoods.”
Quintain’s vision for retail and leisure at Wembley Park – which spans 500,000 sq ft – is to create a 15-minute neighbourhood in which residents and visitors can find everything they could want or need within a short walk from their front door or the train platform.
The latest deals also mark a significant 22 months in one of Europe’s largest mixed-use urban developments. Since March 2020, Quintain has signed 16 retail and leisure leases, covering over 77,286 sq ft in total across Wembley Park and London Designer Outlet - the capital’s leading premium fashion and lifestyle outlet centre. Three further brands, which signed leases before March 2020, have opened their doors and started trading, signalling retailers’ and restaurateurs’ confidence in the opportunities that Wembley Park and its affluent catchment offer their business.
Matt Slade, Retail Director at Quintain, said: “Wembley Park has kicked off the New Year with an even more vibrant offering for the thousands of people who live and work here, as well as the 1.2 million who live within 20 minutes of the destination and the millions more who visit every year.
“In addition to EQL Fitness new super gym, we have signed leases with 15 new brands in less than two years. Moreover, we have opened two new public spaces, including the Olympic Steps – the stunning new doorstep to the National Stadium which is also a culture and events space – and the first section of Union Park, a seven-acre green space in our 85-acre neighbourhood. These new developments further build on our reputation as one of London’s most exciting retail and leisure destinations, bringing together independents and big-name brands, from local family businesses to even hosting the UK’s second Amazon Fresh.”
Wembley Park recently announced that twice Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar will open his latest restaurant concept in the neighbourhood, at the foot of Wembley Stadium and the Olympic Steps. Quintain has also signed leases on a second Black Sheep Coffee following the trading success of its first store near Wembley Park Underground Station, as well as The Grocery Store, an organic produce specialist. London Designer Outlet has welcomed Byron Burgers and Lyle & Scott, as well as revealing that Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein are to upsize and take permanent stores in the capital’s leading premium fashion and lifestyle outlet centre.
Projected to attract more than 20 million visitors a year, Wembley Park will benefit from £328m potential annual retail spend, putting it ahead of London districts such as Camden Victoria and Ealing Broadway. Quintain has its own Wembley Park Retail team headed by Matt Slade. Retail and leisure agents for Wembley Park are Nash Bond and CF Commercial.