First UK mall store for Massimo

Fashion retailer Massimo Dutti has taken its first store in a UK shopping mall, with a 250 sq m unit in Hammerson and Standard Life's Brent Cross Shopping Centre in north London. The high-end fashion subsidiary of Inditex will trade next door to stablemate Zara, which recently opened in the centre.

The deal is one of the first to be carried out through Hammerson's 'Onestep' initiative, which set out to make it easier for new entrants to the UK market to trial formats.

Massimo Dutti has been able to agree a lease that includes a break option at the end of the third year, and a rent that is based totally on turnover up to that date.

Hammerson chief executive John Richards said: 'As an operator of major shopping centres, we understand the logistical and financial issues involved in launching a retail presence in a new market.

'Hammerson's 'Onestep' is an initiative to encourage more retailers to take the first steps to trying out an existing retail format in another country with their fixed costs capped and without them being locked into a long-term lease agreement.'