Commercial Finance Specialists

Spiceal Street, a new restaurant quarter at the Bullring in Birmingham, has been opened by Hammerson. The £7.5 million property investment has created over 100 new jobs for people in Birmingham.

The 20,000 sq. ft extension is hosting three new restaurant brands and is located around St Martin's Square. The development is named after the original Spiceal Street, and derives its name from the semantic origins of 'spice merchant' dating back to the early modern period.

Spiceal Street sees Birmingham’s local handmade burger Co. which specialises in local fresh ingredients, open its first UK restaurant. Thai banquet-style ChaoBaby, and Browns Bar and Brasserie are opening their first units in Birmingham. Existing restaurants Nando's and Pizza Hut have been able to extended their trading space by 54% and 20% respectively as part of the commercial development.

Lawrence Hutchings, Hammerson Managing Director UK Retail commented: "Shopping has become much more about an overall experience and while we have a fantastic fashion offer here at Bullring we wanted to create a destination which delivers great food in a striking environment."

"Consumers' enthusiasm for dining out has remained strong despite the economic climate and we had an exceptional response from restaurant brands for the space. The three brands opening today undoubtedly add an extra dimension to both Bullring and Birmingham."

The Bullring opened in 2003 and houses close to 200 retail units. The centre is anchored by big-brand retailers Selfridges and Debenhams, and was chosen as the first European location for Forever 21. Hammerson now owns the Bullring in a three-way joint venture with Henderson Global Investors and Future Fund.

Hammerson PLC shares peaked at over 360p earlier this week, but are currently trading lower, at 347.6p at the time of issue, valuing the company just shy of £2.5 billion.