12 PROFILE: LAND SECURITIES LAND OF W
ith One New Change opening in the City of London and Trinity Leeds resuming work on site, Land Securities is firmly
back in the business of shopping centre development. Commercial director Ronan Faherty is the man responsible for populating those schemes with tenants, and he is clear that in the new economic climate, landlords need to adopt a new approach to occupier relationships.
The shopping centre development pipeline
is all but dry, but Land Securities has continued development even through the darkest days, building St David’s in Cardiff, One New Change, Park House on Oxford Street and now Trinity. “St David’s is a good example of what you
have to do today,” Faherty says. “If you’re going to do something it has to be that special, that dominant, to change consumer behaviour.” But before starting such a scheme, the business case for development has to be researched even more meticulously than ever. “You have to do more work upfront to understand the consumer, the demographic and
how they react, to justify starting a scheme,” he says. “From now on we’ll only develop when we’re 100 per cent confident.” A similar consumer-focused approach is also
informing the leasing process, according to Faherty. “Land Securities works hard with its retailers to identify the space they want to occupy – it’s about
creating a platform for success,” he explains. Although he concedes: “Sometimes that means you
have to say a location’s not right for a retailer.” And that approach applies long after the lease has been signed. “By understanding the consumer we can advise our retailers on ranging, even the sizing they put into a store. We invest in research so why shouldn’t we share it with the retailers?” And Faherty says that through the downturn Land Securities has
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