Nottingham developer Bildurn Properties is confident of securing a quality tenant for its showpiece restaurant unit at the recently approved £10m Lace Market Square development.

This will bring a new dimension to eating out in this fashionable part of the city - with outdoor dining on the Lace Market's only public square giving a continental feel to this development, at the heart of a conservation area.

The contemporary Lace Market Square development will be a showcase for Nottingham, combining a high quality restaurant, retail and luxury apartments. Central to the development will be a public square - a facility Nottingham City Council has been keen to realise for some considerable time.

The Lace Market is well known for its fashionable eateries. There are around 370 leisure units in the city centre, including pubs, clubs, café bars and restaurants - adding weight to the fact that the British now spend more on dining out more than any other country in Europe.

A recent poll by researcher Datamonitor found that Britons spend an average of £312 per person a year eating out, and this is expected to rise to £356 by 2009. The next are the Italian and then the French - who do not top the £300 mark.

And, in support of this, the hotel and catering industry continues to boom, with many big names planning to expand and look for new premises. Among the 300 companies currently looking for premises in Nottingham are restaurant chains and other eateries.

Recently in the press, Jurys Inn announced it was opening seven more sites by 2007, while the hard Rock Café revealed a global expansion programme, hot on the heels of news that profits had grown by 20%.

North country pub chain Jennings announced it was investing £5m in expanding its business while the café culture continues, with Caffe Nero, which already has premises in the city, announcing an aggressive growth programme, which has seen it opening one new outlet per month.

Nottingham has also been named one of the top five retail destinations in the UK, closely behind London's West End, Glasgow, Birmingham and Leeds. Demand for space in remains high, with retailers being attracted by demographics, spending power and the lack of out-of-town competition.

Bildurn director Sean Akins commented: "We are creating something really rather special at the heart of the historic Lace Market and are confident that a quality restaurant will be attracted to, and want to become part of, this first class development.

"We are pleased to be creating a public open space in the Lace Market, surrounded by contemporary architecture which will form a chic new addition to this part of town."

Development consultant Ray Valenti of local property agents Nattrass Giles added: "This is one of the most exciting new schemes taking place in the city centre at the moment and we have already received a healthy amount of interest in the restaurant and bar opportunities which it offers. Formal marketing has just started and I have no doubt there will be a wide range of well established and newly emerging A3 brands eager to take space in the development when it opens next year. The project affords the opportunity to create a unique destination and this will inevitably form part of our selection criteria".

ENDS

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