A home furnishings chain in the UK has opened up at a new retail location in southern Hampshire.
Ponden Home, part of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill group, signed a lease on a 2,000 sq ft unit at Hedge End Trade Park, Hedge End, near Southampton.
Hughes Ellard, the commercial property consultancy covering the Solent region, acted for the trade park’s landlord, Aberdeen Asset Management (AAM), acting on behalf of a client, in the deal.
Ponden Home, which employs five staff on site and rebranded nationally from Rosebys, was previously at Bradbeers Retail Park, just up to road on Tollbar Way.
Russell Mogridge is the business space director at Hughes Ellard, AAM’s agent for Hedge End Trade Park, which is now fully occupied with the latest arrival.
He said: “Ponden Home had been looking for nine months for suitable premises with the business certainty of a long lease, having traded successfully at the nearby retail park for 15 years as Rosebys then Ponden Home.
“A rare opportunity emerged where a corner unit unexpectedly became available. A two-week refit took place, the landlord having first successfully acquired planning consent from trade counter warehousing use to retail.”
It is the fourth unit on site that Hughes Ellard, with offices in Southampton and Fareham, has secured for national retailers. The others are American Golf, Sliderobes and Hammonds.
Products at Ponden Home, which also has a strong online shopping presence, include curtains, bed linen, bedding, cushions and home accessories.
Kevin Nock, Ponden Home’s area manager, said: “We have five dedicated staff at Ponden Home Hedge End, with a combined 51 years’ experience in the home furnishings field, and they are part of our fantastic ‘bricks-and-clicks’ service to customers.
“We were keen to remain in the Hedge End area, which is convenient for customers because of the easy access from the M27 corridor between Southampton and Portsmouth.”
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill group, which traces its roots back to 1946, where it undertook the dying of yarn on a contract basis before expanding into retail in Edinburgh in 1970, operates in more than 500 stores across the UK.
Ponden Home Hedge End is led by Leanne Fields, the manager of 16 years, and Sandie King, the assistant manager of 15 years.
Britain’s home furnishings market value is forecast to reach £17.1 billion in 2018, according to figures from Euromonitor, a global market research company.
Ponden Home represented itself in the property deal.
