High-end food retailers hungry for space at $1000 per square metre

Competition is cooking in the Melbourne CBD amid ongoing demand for space from food and beverage retailers.

It is particularly fierce in the high-end sector of the market, which is leading to high rents, according to Colliers International agent Ben Tremellen.

The retail agency executive says high-end food retailers are among a few key categories of retailers who are shrugging off the doom and gloom, including luxury retailers.

“As the office market tightens and new CBD apartment developments are announced weekly, the potential customer base for these operators is expanding rapidly,” he says.

“There are several proven operators chasing new sites in Melbourne CBD, keen to position themselves to meet the customer demand.”

Tremellen says food and beverage deals are being negotiated for upwards of $1000 per square metre as operators compete to secure space.

At 485 La Trobe Street, Tremellen negotiated a deal on behalf of landlord CLSA for cafe operator Café  Saporo to lease 120 square metres of space that was previously foyer seating, maximising the income opportunity for the landlord.

At 206 Bourke Street, Tremellen leased 501 square metres to another food operator over two tenancies, and at 400 Collins Street, a café operator has taken 194 square metres.

“All three deals were negotiated on rates of more than $1000 square metres,” he says.