| Welcome to Tenant Watch, a regular newsletter from Income Analytics that summarises news affecting key occupiers of commercial property. Tenant Watch provides real estate brokers, investors and lenders with a summary of recent news articles focusing on financial health and future occupational requirements. | |
| Author: | Jack Baker |
| Contact us: | info@incans.com |
Retail
Dobbies Garden Centres' like-for-like sales increased to £221m following its restructuring, while the statutory loss narrowed from £40.5m to £36.3m, although the retailer remained unprofitable and cash-negative (Retail Gazette, 7 September 2026).
The Works' like-for-like sales rose 10.4% during the first 18 weeks of FY27, prompting the retailer to raise its full-year adjusted EBITDA forecast to at least £16m (Retail Gazette, 7 September 2026).
Primark plans to launch home delivery in Great Britain after acquiring Boohoo’s highly automated Sheffield fulfilment centre for £90m. The retailer expects full-year sales to rise 2%, despite a 2.6% decline in like-for-like sales, while its demerger from Associated British Foods remains scheduled for December 2027 (Alliance News, 10 September 2026).
Dunelm launched a three-year plan to remove and reinvest £100m of costs by 2029, expand and refurbish its store estate and strengthen its digital operations, despite softer recent trading caused by hot weather (Retail Gazette, 8 September 2026).
Matalan's chief operating officer Phil Hackney left Matalan after three years, with no successor announced, amid the retailer’s continuing turnaround and recent senior leadership changes (Retail Gazette, 8 September 2026).
Inditex's sales at constant exchange rates rose 9% between 1 August and 7 September despite European heatwaves, while the group committed an additional £172m to upgrading its corporate offices (Retail Gazette, 9 September 2026).
H&M will open a production office in Barcelona focused on product development, trend analysis and market research, bringing its sourcing teams and selected suppliers together (RetailDetail, 9 September 2026).
John Lewis Partnership's first-half losses widened from £34m to £89m despite a 2% increase in sales to £6.3bn, reflecting higher costs and weaker demand for big-ticket purchases (Retail Gazette, 10 September 2026).
Currys' Like-for-like sales increased 7% during the 17 weeks to 29 August, supported by heatwave-driven demand for cooling products and continued growth in the Nordics (Retail Gazette, 10 September 2026).
Harvey Nichols has resumed online trading under Frasers Group following its acquisition out of administration. The luxury retailer’s website has reopened after being temporarily taken offline during the ownership transition and now incorporates Frasers’ Frasers Plus loyalty and payments proposition. The relaunch represents an important step in rebuilding Harvey Nichols’ digital operations under its new owner while its physical stores continue trading (Retail Gazette, 8 September 2026).
Logistics
DHL will open a 3,047 sqm temperature-controlled healthcare logistics hub at Singapore’s Changi Airport by the end of 2027 as part of DHL Group’s €2bn healthcare investment programme (Parcel and Postal Technology International, 7 September 2026).
DP World has established a new intermodal automotive corridor linking Western and Southeastern Europe. The group completed its first end-to-end managed finished-vehicle rail shipment from Zeebrugge to its €21m multimodal terminal in Aiud, Romania, with onward road delivery to Moldova, and plans to introduce twice-monthly rail services as it develops Aiud into a regional automotive distribution hub (Railway News, 7 September 2026).
DSV has deployed a Boston Dynamics Stretch robot at its Tholen warehouse in the Netherlands, marking the technology’s first use across DSV’s global warehousing operations. The robot automatically unloads goods from containers, automating a physically demanding process and forming part of DSV’s efforts to improve warehouse efficiency, safety and automation following around three years of development work (Warehouse Totaal, 10 September 2026).
Maersk has announced tighter EU customs controls alongside additional cost measures affecting European inland logistics and selected UAE-bound shipments. From 30 September, cargo entering or transiting the EU that requires an ICS2 Entry Summary Declaration must have a valid Movement Reference Number before loading, with shipments lacking an MRN at least 24 hours before vessel arrival excluded from the load list and potentially rolled to a later sailing. Maersk has also introduced temporary fuel-related adjustments for inland transportation across Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, together with a US$500-per-container emergency surcharge on certain shipments to the UAE amid continued operating pressures (Container News, 8 September 2026; Container News, 10 September 2026).
Office
Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe has agreed to one of Europe’s largest office deals of the year, taking around 40,000 sqm for a new Berlin headquarters. BVG has signed a 25-year lease at the RE(O Campus near Ostkreuz, where around 2,000 employees from operational, technical, administrative and security functions will be consolidated from locations across the city. The phased relocation is scheduled between 2028 and 2030 (BVG, 7 September 2026).
Moody’s has more than doubled its Manchester office footprint to 9,000 sq ft. The financial ratings company has expanded from around 3,600 sq ft at 55 Princess Street and signed a new 10-year lease, representing a significant long-term commitment to its Manchester city centre base (Place North West, 9 September 2026).
Piper Sandler has opened a new Paris office as part of its European expansion. The US investment bank has established the location to support the launch of its European equities trading operation, led by its head of sales and trading for Europe (Piper Sandler, 10 September 2026).
Siemens has broken ground on a new 24,000 sqm corporate headquarters campus in Madrid. The technology group’s future Spanish headquarters in Las Tablas is being developed as a digitally enabled and sustainable workplace focused on employee wellbeing and the integration of Siemens’ own technologies (Siemens, 7 September 2026).
AspinallVerdi has relocated its Newcastle office following continued growth in the North East. The regeneration consultancy has moved from The Core at Newcastle Helix to Grainger Hub on Grainger Street, five years after establishing its Newcastle operation (Place North East, 4 September 2026).
LPP has relocated its Warsaw office to 2,000 sqm at Saski Crescent. The fashion group, which owns Reserved, Cropp, House, Mohito and Sinsay, has created a combined office, showroom and business meeting hub with flexible areas for its creative teams (EurobuildCEE, 8 September 2026).
Takeda has relocated its Warsaw office to 1,000 sqm at Studio A within Fabryka Norblina. The pharmaceutical company selected the centrally located space following a search for modern accommodation meeting its quality and technical requirements, with the new workplace incorporating flexible meeting and collaboration areas (EurobuildCEE, 9 September 2026).
The Shire has renewed approximately 2,500 sqm at Centrum Biurowe Korona in Kraków. The serviced-office operator has extended its lease in the Galileo building, where it has operated since 2024, retaining one of its two Kraków locations (EurobuildCEE, 8 September 2026).
Estée Lauder Romania has renewed its lease and relocated its Bucharest headquarters within SkyTower. The beauty group has extended its commitment to the building for a third time and moved into newly fitted accommodation on the ninth floor, having occupied SkyTower since 2017 (Romania Insider, 4 September 2026).
Holding KW is relocating its headquarters to DL Tower in Katowice. The Polish state-owned holding group has leased new office accommodation at the 17,000 sqm building, while its existing headquarters is expected to be sold and demolished (EurobuildCEE, 4 September 2026).
Other
Nestlé appointed JLL to provide leasing transaction management and strategic advice across its office, industrial and retail portfolio in 130 countries (Property Week, 8 September 2026).
Fullers has agreed to acquire 10 pubs from Stonegate Group for £32.5m, comprising four freeholds and six leaseholds across London and Bath (Property Week, 10 September 2026).
Google will invest at least €13bn in four Finnish data centres and supporting infrastructure over the next two years, its largest investment in Europe, with construction scheduled across 2027 and 2028 (Euronews, 9 September 2026).