Onit chooses Blackpool for first store

Newly-formed furniture company Onit Ltd has chosen a Lancashire retail park as its first outlet location in a nationwide hunt for new stores.

Works are full steam ahead at the former Dreams unit at Cherry Tree Retail Park, Blackpool for Onit, which is planning an official opening at the end of February.

Onit Limited, which has UK-wide expansion plans, has been working on the 8,573 sq ft retail trade showroom which it has taken on a new 10 year lease from landlord Laketime Holidays. Robert Pinkus & Co acted on behalf of the landlord.

The Cherry Tree Road property in Marton has created four new full time jobs for the local area and is the first property in its 150-store nationwide rollout programme, the next priority towns and cities being all those within the Granada TV region.

The out-of town-retail warehouse is located on the popular retail park next to Storeys Carpets, Benson Beds and a recently opened Barnardo’s retail unit. A 24 hour Asda supermarket is nearby.

Mark Prior, managing director of Onit Ltd, said: “Cherry Tree Retail Park ticked all the right boxes for us mainly because of the already established home furnishing retailers and a 24 hour Asda based at the park which offer a complementary retail fit for our business.

“Team this with the added benefit of being located on a main arterial route into Blackpool that attracts large tourist visitor numbers, the unit presented a great opportunity that we couldn’t ignore. We have set the benchmark high for all the stores we are hoping to secure on our roll out programme!” Joe Assalone, partner at Robert Pinkus & Co, said: “Cherry Tree Retail Park is a very busy retail destination that offers high footfall, great parking allocation and close proximity to passing traffic. South Shore Blackpool favours the bigger format trade showroom retailers and we are delighted we have been able to secure Onit’s first UK store.”