Background
Luxury retailer Matches Fashion was founded by Tom and Ruth Chapman in 1987 and has a portfolio of 400 fashion brands, including Gucci, Mulberry, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Burberry Prorsum. The company, which employs more than 500 staff across the UK, sought to relocate its head office within London, and to expand into Asia’s high-end fashion market.
Our involvement
Commercial Property Partner Bill Dunmore completed the agreement for Matches Fashion to acquire the lease on two floors at London’s iconic Shard building, providing the expanding brand with 35,000 sq ft of office space. The transaction was the first letting at the Shard in 2016, and Bill advised the luxury retailer’s management team on landlord and tenant, construction and planning matters. He was supported by our London Commercial Property Team, and our Construction and Planning Teams in Bristol.
Traditionally a UK-based company, Matches Fashion also plans to open an office and retail outlets in Hong Kong, as part of its expansion into Asia’s high-end retail market. Following his successful negotiation with the Shard, Bill was instructed by the luxury retailer to provide commercial advice on negotiating property agreements in Hong Kong.
The outcome
The new 35,000 sq ft premises on the seventh and eighth levels of the Shard will support Matches Fashion’s international growth ambitions and double the size of its UK headquarters. The company’s expansion into Asia also offers an unprecedented opportunity to build its presence in one of the region’s most valuable high-end retail markets.
Thrings has represented Matches Fashion on property and general commercial matters for several years, and we are pleased to have played a part in supporting the world’s fastest-growing luxury fashion retailer at such an exciting stage in its history.
For further commentary on this case, or to discuss any commercial property-related issue, please contact a member of Thrings’ Commercial Property team.
