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Virgin's done deal signals ambitious expansion plans. (News).
Virgin Entertainment Group has confirmed that it has sealed the deal to take over one of London's prime retail sites with the acquisition of Tower's Piccadilly store.
The deal--also taking in Tower's only other surviving British store in Kensington--marks the end of the US retailer's presence in the UK after 17 years. At one stage it had eight UK stores, but was forced to close all but two last summer.
"We're pleased the deal is done, but that's only the start," says Virgin's CEO Simon Wright, who describes the Piccadilly Circus site as one of music retail's "top locations in the world". However, at this stage he is unwilling to reveal Virgin's plans for the store or the one at Kensington.
Virgin is now in negotiations with Tower and the building's landlords over a moving-in date. The Tower store opened at the site in July 1986, eight months after Tower's first UK store launched in Kensington.
Tower acknowledges that it has signed contracts with Virgin for the two stores, although it says the deal has not been fully executed or completed yet. It expects this to happen by April 4.
Tower, which has been in exclusive negotiations with Virgin over the two sites since it announced last August it was looking for a ...