GPE's West End development houses new stores, Jimmy Choo's fashion academy

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 11, 2021

Major London landlord Great Portland Estates (GPE) has officially unveiled one of the latest fashion and retail-focused developments to happen in London and it's one that adds an interesting and unique element to the West End as it continues to recover from the pandemic.

GPE has announced that its 8,400 sq ft Medici Courtyard is due to officially open to the public later this month. 

Located at the centre of its 221,500 sq ft mixed-use Hanover, development, it will be one of the first public courtyards to open in Mayfair for more than a century and should boost the overall experience for shoppers in the West End of London. 

The newly-created courtyard opens as Hanover welcomes a string of new retailers and occupiers.  

We heard earlier this year that Jimmy Choo was to open a “groundbreaking” fashion academy and his London Fashion Academy has now taken up residence.

An interesting concept that’s quite different from what we might usually expect of an educational institution, it’s run by Professor Choo and housed in one of Mayfair’s Grade II listed buildings. And in an important move that creates a link between the commercial world and the student world so often lacking, there’s a shop as part of the GPE development where the students from the Academy will sell their creations.

Elsewhere in the new space, there are restaurants and residential units, as well as 40,000 sq ft of luxury retail units predominantly facing onto New Bond Street. Tenants who’ve signed up for space include Moyes Stevens, the only florist to hold a Royal Warrant, as well as Canali and Pronovias (debuting its new Vera Wang Bride line, due to open in early 2022).

Marc Wilder, Leasing Director at GPE, said: “A project of this scale in Mayfair is rare and the overall creation of Hanover’s new courtyard, retail arcade, prime offices, café, restaurant and thoroughfare marks the beginning of a long-lasting legacy for the capital. The development is in the heart of London’s luxury fashion district has provided us with the unique ability to create and launch a new mixed-use destination created for the future of London.

“The world class scheme serves as part of the wider transformation of the New Bond Street area and will be complemented by the new Elizabeth Line which is due to open soon. Visitors will be able to walk through to the recently renovated Hanover Square gardens via our new colonnade and Medici Courtyard.”