A walk in the park

Amidst a challenging environment over the past five years, out of town retail in the UK has remained resilient. The sector has seen narrowing vacancy rates over the past year (5.6% nationally, and 2% in prime retail park locations), rental growth, as well as new players entering the market.

We explore how UK out of town retail is continuing to evolve and what is driving its durability:

Changing consumer behaviour
The acceleration of ecommerce has changed consumer attitudes towards physical retail, with visits to stores being more purpose-driven as opposed to browsing, known as ‘mission-based shopping’, which British Land state can deliver conversion of up to 87% compared to 71% for retail generally. In addition, the post-pandemic work from home trend means consumers are increasingly favouring convenience and accessibility when it comes to physical retail, meaning out of town schemes have been well positioned to benefit from these trends.

Expectations for seamless omnichannel experiences are also a prevalent consumer trend post-pandemic, and a synergy between retail parks and ecommerce has emerged in recent years, with the retail park format ideally suited to support omnichannel strategies such as click and collect. This helps brands reduce delivery costs, increase store footfall, boosting potential sales while offering a convenient, flexible shopping experience in line with consumer preferences.

Diversification of tenant mix
Whilst discount, household and grocery retailers have largely characterised the out-of-town sector to date, new entrants who have traditionally located in town/city centres or shopping centre locations are emerging, creating more diverse occupier mixes that appeal to broader audiences.

Brands such as Boots, Superdrug and JD Sports have successfully entered the sector over the past few years, yet more aspirational brands including Rituals, Hotel Chocolat, Mango, Moss Bros, Lush and White Stuff have recently begun their out of town expansion. Hotel Chocolat has launched 12 stores within the past year at out-of-town locations, with 20 further stores of this format planned to open over next 18 months, claiming these locations are where they are seeing footfall and demand.

Earlier this year, Primark opened a flagship store at Teesside Park in Middlesbrough, one of many newer brands on the complex including Lush and Nike. Furthermore, new F&B names have recently emerged into the sector, including Wingstop, Pret a Manger, Popeye's, Wagamama and Wendy's, demonstrating the continuing diversification of retail park portfolios and recognition of the opportunities in out-of-town locations from brands.

Hybrid parks
The diversification of tenant mixes is creating what is described as `hybrid parks', which include a range of retail formats including grocery, DIY, furniture, discounters and national retailers e.g. Next, which British Land predict will achieve the strongest performance in the future. Key anchors such as grocery and strong national retailers attract regular footfall, creating a halo effect whereby other retailers are looking to capitalise on the regular footfall and spend. Nugent Shopping Park in Orpington, Kent is an example of this, with the addition of new brands post-pandemic resulting in sales 90% above 2018 levels and 100% occupancy.

Mixed-use opportunities
As retail parks continue to diversify, there are significant opportunities in terms of leisure, services and amenities. Leisure occupiers have been increasingly taking space on retail parks over the past few years, however services have largely involved gyms to date. There has been increased interest from beauty, healthcare and dental services in taking space on out of town schemes. Fort Kinnaird in Edinburgh, for example, includes beauty services and barbers, as well as fitness centres, creating a more rounded offer, and dentist group MyDentist have increasingly been taking spaces on retail parks.


As retail parks are evolving beyond their traditionally functional purposes, blending retail with leisure, health, and wellness services, and offering a level of convenience that once defined the high street, they are becoming go-to locations where consumers can handle a range of needs in one place. This shift mirrors the decline of many high streets’ as one-stop destinations, with more of these services moving to out of town developments. However, with the majority of retail park schemes restricted to a finite amount of space, this limits the range of occupiers available, meaning town and city centre schemes will remain relevant. However, they may need to focus on unique, community-focused offerings that set them apart from out of town schemes.

Emily Brown