Wake Smith is supporting an aggressive expansion programme across the UK for the retail division of Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL), the UK trading arm of The Salvation Army.
Experts in the firm's Commercial Property department are assisting the organisation, which has a target of between 30 and 50 new retail properties this financial year.
Head of the Commercial Property department at Wake Smith & Tofields, Neil Salter said: "We've been acting on behalf of SATCoL for around two years and have managed 40 plus cases by coordinating legal completions including contract renewals and leases for new retail properties. This has included opening shops in sequence, in a particular geographical area, so that down time is reduced and that the shop fitting team remain in the area to maximize resources.
"Coordinating legal completions to coincide with other events can be complex but the team at Wake Smith has managed these challenges successfully, helping to reduce overheads and maximize return for the retail outlets concerned."
Wake Smith was selected after completing an initial project and demonstrating value for money and a deep understanding of how SATCoL operates in the charity retail sector.
SATCoL currently runs more than 80 retail outlets across the UK. Profits from the shops are gift-aided to The Salvation Army, helping to fund its work across the UK. Homeless shelters, substance misuse centres and family tracing services are just some of the services The Salvation Army delivers.
Kevin Lowe, property manager at SATCoL, said: "Our aim for next 12 months is to develop our retail portfolio and, in the current economic climate, we are well positioned to take advantage of units at prime city and town centre locations owing to the strength of our brand and competitive rates available.
"Wake Smith has provided excellent legal advice throughout the project; charity retail stores like ours are playing an increasingly important part in towns and cities up and down the country as the need for affordable clothing and household goods continues to be strong. Wake Smith has capitalised on this trend to help us negotiate the best possible rates with landlords, which is key for us as our objective is to maximise the profits we gift-aid to The Salvation Army."
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