September 2009 

Perth City West site attracts leading retailer, Sainsbury's

Perth City West LLP, the owner of the Huntingtower site which was previously home to United Auctions’ headquarters, has signed a deal with one of the UK’s leading retailers, Sainsbury’s, that is set to see the supermarket establish a presence in Perth for the first time.

Perth City West is a joint venture between Scottish property developer, Elphinstone Holdings Ltd, and Hunter Capital. The initiative was launched in 2006 to take forward development of the site. Perth City West has agreed to sell an 11 acre portion of its Huntingtower site to Sainsbury’s for the development of up to a 70,000 sq ft food store. Perth City West has lodged an outline planning application to Perth and Kinross Council for the Huntingtower site, which extends to 27 acres, for a mixed use development for retail, specialist residential, business and leisure use.

Sainsbury's believe that all successful developments come about as a result of working in partnership with local residents, businesses, community groups, and the local authorities. Sainsbury’s consultation with the local community in Perth will begin in September with an application likely to be submitted to Perth and Kinross Council by the end of 2009.

Commenting on the announcement, Ken Ross OBE, Chairman of Elphinstone, said: “This is the next stage in our aim to add a new dimension to Perth with commercial and retail development which complements the individual shopping experience of the long-established city centre. In Sainsbury’s we have identified a great partner and I am certain that this development will help the economy of Perth both in the creation of jobs and bringing more retail visitors to the Fair City.”

Paul Miller, National Development Surveyor for Sainsbury’s, commented: “We are delighted to have secured a prime site in Perth, which has been a longstanding goal for Sainsbury’s, and intend submitting a planning application later this year to secure our first store in Perth. We believe that Perth is a vibrant and continually growing area which Sainsbury’s would like to be a part of. We were pleased to recently open a Sainsbury’s in Kinross, and hope to enhance our offer with a Sainsbury’s in Perth. The proposed store at Perth represents a significant value of investment and we are confident that the opening of a Sainsbury’s store will deliver important benefits to the local economy by offering in excess of 500 full and part-time jobs for local people and working with Scottish suppliers.”

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