TGJones’ owner Modella Capital is exploring the possibility of selling the freehold on its Swindon head office and distribution centre in the future, Retail Week can reveal.
TGJones inherited the freehold of the former WHSmith high street business head office on Greenbridge Road in Swindon, Wiltshire, when it purchased the brand for £76m in the summer.
In a call with landlords and property agents last week, a source on the call said that TGJones chief executive Sean Toal raised the possibility of relocating the retailer’s head office and distribution centre to a different site in Swindon.
Toal also said that the brand was exploring ways to “realise the value” of the freehold.
Although Toal didn’t explicitly say how TGJones could do that, the source said it was implied this would potentially be done through a straight sale, or potentially a sale and leaseback agreement.
“We’re also thinking through at the moment whether or not we actually relocate our support centre here in Swindon to another location in Swindon, and also our distribution centre that’s here as well,” Toal told landlords on the call.
“We have the freehold of this site, and we’re working through whether there’s an option for us to realise the value of this site and relocate our distribution centre and office. So, there’s lots and lots going on. But, most importantly, we’re focused on developing our proposition, so it becomes more appealing to more customers”.
A spokesman for TGJones said: “While TGJones owns the freehold to the Greenbridge site, we currently have no immediate plans to relocate either our support centre or the distribution centre.”
This was the same call on which Modella Capital and TGJones boss Toal set out their vision to turn the retailer into the “new hub of the high street”.
According to details shared with Retail Week, Toal and Modella Capital property director Charlie Martindale told landlords and agents that it had long-term ambitions to grow the brand’s store estate from its current 464 stores to more than 500.
They also stressed the importance of bringing other brands under Modella Capital’s ownership into TGJones fascias – targeting 250-plus Hobbycraft store-in-stores and 250-plus Toys ‘R’ Us locations in TGJones by the end of the 2027 financial year.
TGJones is also looking to open around 180 Post Office locations in its stores, seeing that as a key footfall driver for customers in certain areas underrepresented by either postal or banking services.
Toal is also said to have told landlords that moving forward, as the brand retrofits and opens new stores based around this more flagship model, the retailer will be looking for longer lease agreements from landlords with fewer break clauses.
However, to help with initial fit-out costs, TGJones will be looking for short-term rent reductions or a rent-free period to help with costs.
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