Ripon's flourishing arcade is now fully let
The Editor
New tenants Yorkshire Physio and Gladrags Ripon have just taken the final two units in the popular arcade in the heart of the city.
These two deals follow hard on the heels of Yorkshire Cancer Research moving into to the city’s arcade, which has recently undergone a £100,000 refurbishment.
Leading Bradford-based property development and investment company Frank Marshall Estates bought the 16,484 sq ft arcade off a guide price of £2.2m from the Westcourt Group in 2019.
Edward Marshall, director of Frank Marshall Estates, commented: “It is absolutely wonderful news that the iconic arcade is now fully occupied. The arcade, which links the city’s main car park to the historic Market Square, is a fabulous new location for both Yorkshire Physio and Gladrags Ripon. It is the beating heart of the city, with a really strong and consistent footfall.
“It gives us great pleasure to welcome our two new tenants to the arcade and to announce that the arcade is full. We believe our sensitive refurbishment has given the arcade a new identity, making it much more visible and more of an attraction from the Market Square side in particular.
“Ripon is a sleeping giant and we are delighted that our attractive, new-look development has given the city centre the game-changing regeneration boost it needed.”
Other occupiers of Ripon Arcade include North Yorkshire County Council and retailers such as Scriven Opticians, Home Bargains, the British Heart Foundation, Blue Cross, Westwood’s Barbershop and Social, Caffe Tempo and the Card Factory.
Edward added: “Retail has suffered the worst period in history over the last two years but we are now seeing a strong recovery, especially in the smaller towns and cities like Ripon. People want to shop locally and, in a place like Ripon, this means in the Market Square and the Arcade.
“We are pleased to see our units full and that the tenants are quality local businesses who are our favourite people to deal with. Ripon is about to have a very large number of new houses built over the next few years and this can only benefit our tenants and the city centre as a whole. Long may it continue.”
