Ahead of the Olympics, French luxury shoe maker JM Weston will open a flagship store on Jermyn Street, and Italian restaurant group San Carlo will open Cicchetti at 215 Piccadilly, just yards from Piccadilly Circus and adjoining The Crown Estate's £100 million St James's Gateway redevelopment scheme.
Anthea Harries, Portfolio Manager for St James's said: "Our ongoing investment in St James's is already delivering significant results; the arrival of JM Weston to Jermyn Street, and Cicchetti to Piccadilly helps us further cement the area's position as one of London's premier retail and dining destinations."
San Carlo, the award-winning family run business, is taking a 255 m2 (2,750 ft2) unit on a 15-year lease, at an undisclosed rent. The group was established in 1992, operates internationally in capital cities across the globe and has ten restaurants UK-wide. Five years ago it also acquired the famous 'Signor Sassi' in Knightsbridge, London.
Group Chairman Carlo Distefano, said: "We are expanding rapidly as a group and have been looking for many years to find exactly the right place to open a new London flagship restaurant. St James's is right for us because of its unrivalled reputation for quality, combined with the huge potential for growth offered by The Crown Estate's investment plan."
In June JM Weston will begin fit out at 60 Jermyn Street, a 75 m2 (800 ft2) of ground floor space and 85 m2 (900 ft2) of basement space, on a 12 year lease.
Eric Vallat, J.M. Weston C.E.O, said: "It is a great honour for J.M. Weston to establish its distinguished spirit in St James's, Jermyn Street, home of British elegance and know-how. As a French master shoemaker, we are proud to sit alongside other such respected artisans and luxury houses."
The French retailer was a favourite of former French Presidents Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac, who both favoured the Weston loafer, and Weston's punched Oxford style shoe with a thick sole became so closely associated with Giscard d'Estaing that it is now known as the Giscard.
As the largest owner of freehold property in the core West End, we have made substantial progress in St James's in the last 18 months. It recently announced that Philippe Le Roux's Villandry will be moving into Trafalgar House, in Waterloo Place, to establish a high calibre flagship restaurant. It has also acquired over £150 million of new property interests as part of its strategy to secure host of high profile retail and restaurant lettings.
Cushman and Wakefield and Davis Coffer Lyons acted for The Crown Estate.
Source: The Crown Estate