St James Quarter, Commercial Strategy
Edinburgh, Scotland

Footfall forecasting & retail GLA assessment for Edinburgh’s largest mixed-use district

Service

Commercial Strategy & Advisory

Sector

Retail

Client

Nuveen

Solution

The St. James Quarter brought 78,968 m²of retail, dining and leisure to Edinburgh’s East End, replacing a 1970s shopping centre with the city’s largest mixed-use district. Benoy’s Commercial Strategy team (then Pragma), conducted an independent assessment of target occupier performance and profitability, helping Nuveen validate rental income assumptions and build confidence that occupiers become long-standing partners with St James Quarter.

Assessing the opportunity

During the feasibility stage, Benoy reviewed the potential impact of St James Quarter on Edinburgh’s retail catchment, examining catchment extent, penetration, visitor profile and turnover by merchandise category. The work then assessed how the development would affect the performance of existing Edinburgh occupiers across merchandise category, price position and micro-location. This gave Nuveen a picture of the development’s likely scale and timing before leasing began.

Building the occupier case

A second workstream provided an independent review of potential turnover performance for over 30 target occupiers across a range of merchandise categories, unit sizes and price points. Bespoke analysis of each business model assessed where a St James Quarter store would sit within the operator’s wider portfolio, supporting Nuveen’s leasing strategy with parent-company-level profitability evidence.

A foundation for long-term performance

The strategy provided an evidential basis for attracting a compelling occupier mix, making St James Quarter relevant for consumers, occupiers, and investors alike. With annual footfall exceeding 20 million in 2024, 6% above the Scottish retail average.