Taco Bell franchisee is penultimate letting at Preston's Animate scheme

Taco Bell franchisee, Soul Foods Group is the latest name to be coming to Preston City Council’s Animate leisure scheme.

Maple Grove Developments (MGD) has announced that the restauranteur has taken unit four (2,800 sq ft) which occupies a prominent position in the middle of the restaurant terrace on a 15-year lease.

The deal means that just one final unit (10,270 sq ft) offering social space on the upper level is now available.

Animate will offer an eight-screen cinema, 16-lane bowling alley with gaming zone, five family restaurant units, a food hall, public realm, a socialising unit and 164-space basement car park, with national leisure brands including Hollywood Bowl, ARC Cinemas, Ask Italian, Cosmo, Las Iguanas, Mad Giant Food Hall and Loungers signed up as tenants, when it opens in Spring 2025.

Soul Foods Group is a leading family-owned multi-brand franchise operator, working with household names like Starbucks, KFC, and Taco Bell.

Bruce Layzell, UK general manager, said: “Our goal is to deliver a great customer experience with bold flavours but also to create jobs and contribute positively to the local communities we serve. We are excited to bring Taco Bell to this vibrant new development and helping Preston to Live Mas!”

John Brady, from letting agent Bradys, joint agents for the scheme with Smith Young, added: “To have only one unit remaining at this stage, demonstrates the strength of the offer at Animate and why the council was right to back this development. With an excellent tenant line up, there is a superb opportunity for a competitive operator to occupy this final unit, which can be taken as a whole or split into two to meet the occupier’s needs.”

Councillor Martyn Rawlinson, deputy leader and cabinet member for resources at Preston City Council added: “We set out a vision to create a place where the people of Preston and beyond could come and enjoy. As a council, it’s extremely rewarding to see that vision being realised and have the endorsement of brands such as Blue Bell Foods, as well as a long list of high-quality occupiers, all deciding to operate here.”

 Built by Eric Wright Construction on the former indoor market and car park site, Animate is one of six major projects planned under Preston's Harris Quarter Towns Fund Investment Programme.

Work started on site in January 2023, and the construction phase was completed on time and within budget.

Preston was awarded £20.9m from the government's national Towns Fund initiative in March 2021, and the Harris Quarter is a unique part of the city centre undergoing a £200m investment programme to transform its historic buildings, sites and public realm into a diverse culture, leisure and employment offering.

It comes after Lancashire Business View reported earlier this month that commercial property agents Sanderson Weatherall had been appointed as estate manager of the leisure scheme