Asians in London get ethnic mall

LONDON: Indian food, clothes, jewellery, health and beauty products, electronics, accessories, coffee shops and maybe even a bank — all under one very state-of-the-art roof. No, this is not a new shopping mall in Mumbai, but in Green Street in London’s East End!

Britain is getting its first Asian shopping complex in the heart of the city, which is also the area marked out for the Olympics in 2012. “We can’t believe the demand, its amazing how many enquiries we have received and we haven’t even officially launched the project yet,” said Paul Mellish, project manager for Mellish and Lynch.

The official launch of the £30 million project will be held next week at the West Ham Football club, but 10 per cent of the units have already been booked.

Emerald Shopping Centre, as it will be called, will begin construction in July and they hope to have it ready for occupation by the spring of 2008. The complex will be constructed in what was a derelict bus garage since 1965.

“Over the last 40 years various people have thought of projects for the place, but because of its unusual thin and long shape, it was hard to get planning permission,” explained Mellish. “That was until our clients — the Yusuf brothers — saw its potential as a shopping centre and bought the site,” Mellish told DNA.

“Green Street has become a popular destination for the Asian community in London, it is often called the Asian Oxford Street, and the demand for shops there has been insatiable,” explained Nadeem Yusuf, one of the owners of the centre and director of Britannia Property Development.

Not fazed by the competition from other Green Street shops, Yusuf is confident that his project will be a success.

“Our shopping complex will be different. It will provide a special experience. We are selling our units to both national chains, as well as retailers in India, Pakistan and Dubai,” he said. “In fact, we have already rented out 3 units to Dubai-based companies,” he added.

Apart from foreign retailers, businessmen with shops already in Wembley and Southall, the other Asian-dominated area in London, have all shown great interest in getting into Emerald.

The 1,30,000 square foot shopping complex will be divided up into 80 units split over 2 floors. 15 per cent of space has been earmarked for restaurants, for which there has already been interest from established Indian restaurant owners.

The average size of each unit is between 600-1,000 square feet with the largest unit measuring 5,000 square feet. The annual rent is on average around £22,000 and rising.