Lifestyle brand Fat Face has launched an expansion drive in the UK, looking to grow at 25 stores a year over the next three years.

Fat Face opened its first UK store on London’s Fulham Road in 1993, and has 70 stores at present.

Last year saw a cash injection and the arrival of Louise Barnes from Monsoon as chief executive. She now plans to more than double the store portfolio. Mortlock Simmons Brown and Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker have been retained to handle store acquisitions.

Sites have already been secured at Brent Cross in north London and Gatwick Airport. Plans to move into Ireland for the first time are also in the pipeline.

‘These stores not only demonstrate the versatility of the Fat Face brand, but also our confidence in the expansion strategy,’ said Barnes.

Mortlock Simmons Brown director Steve Brown said the standard requirement was for units of between 1,000 sq ft (93 sq m) and 3,000 sq ft (280 sq m) at edge-of-prime locations.

However, the success of the operations at Brent Cross showed that Fat Face could trade equally well from prime shopping centres.

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