New HMV store confirmed for Boston, with new details revealed

The entertainment retailer will be returning to the town’s Pescod Square Shopping Centre in late November, it has been announced today (Wednesday, October 24).

News broke at the start of last month that the business was poised to come back to Boston, five years after it left.

This came in the form of job adverts for a manager and an assistant manager for a new store in the town, with October given as the opening date, as reported here.

However, HMV declined to comment on a possible return to Boston at the time or when adverts appeared for sales assistant roles, as reported here.

Confirmation of the business’ return came in a statement released this morning by Capreon, the Noé Group real estate business which acts as asset mangers for the Pescod Square Shopping Centre.

A unit – measuring 7,134 sq ft – has been let to HMV, the statement said. It has since confirmed it will be occupying its former premises, recently vacated by the Farplace Animal Charity.

The new store, the statement continued, would be opening next month with a lease extending to January 2021.

“This commitment by HMV is an acknowledgement of the sustained strong performance at Pescod Square,” it states. “By way of pedestrian footfall, the centre consistently outperforms the national average, making Pescod Square a highly attractive centre to a range of national retailers. As the link between Wide Bargate and Mitre Lane, Pescod Square incorporates the historic Pescod Hall, covers 93,000 square feet and provides a much-needed 400-space car park off Penn Street.”

Caroline Bridge, senior asset manager at Capreon said, “We are very pleased to be adding such a recognisable national retail brand to Pescod Square. This letting fits perfectly with our plans to have a diverse range of tenants available to shoppers. We are always looking for ways to improve the shopping experience for all visitors to Pescod Square and HMV, with its diverse retail base and high-street recognition, will further enhance our existing offering.”

Laurence Price HMV head of retail: “We are thrilled to be opening a brand new HMV store in Boston in November. We are extremely proud of our heritage and our dedicated staff, who, like our customers, share a passion for the best music and film, tech, t-shirts, gifts and collectables. It’s great to announce that HMV is now back in Boston, we look forward to opening our doors very soon.”

Letting agents Fawley Watson Booth and Rowley Hughes Thompson advised Capreon, the statement adds.

It was in March 2013 when HMV closed its branch in the Pescod Square Shopping Centre, Boston, after sliding into administration earlier that year.

The Twitter handle for the shop will be @hmv_Boston.