New property management for Worcester’s Hopmarket

By Nicky Godding

6 June 2023

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The Business Magazine article image for: New property management for Worcester’s Hopmarket

GJS Dillon Emily Bullock, GJS Dillon’s Associate Director of Asset Management and Bill Simpson, Chairman of the Hopmarket Charity

A Worcestershire commercial property consultancy has been instructed to manage a substantial portfolio of mixed-use accommodation at Worcester’s iconic Hopmarket.

GJS Dillon’s Asset Management team has taken on the property management of 25 retail units and 44 affordable housing flats at the Hopmarket. The team will work in partnership with the Hopmarket Charity-registered landlords on behalf of Worcester City Council and Platform Housing Group -who manage the flats. GJS Dillon’s responsibilities include liaising with clients and managing repairs and maintenance. They will also oversee the community, health and safety of the Hopmarket building.

The site is named after Worcester’s Hop Fair where surplus hops were sold in the 1890s to dealers from across the country. The Grade II listed building, constructed in 1900, was originally a hotel and warehouse buildings which were then converted into the retail units and flats which exist today.

The Hopmarket Charity has existed for many years and was charged by a Parliamentary Act in 1730 with maintaining the Hopmarket and supporting ‘needy persons’. The current Trustees, of whom two-thirds must be members of Worcester City Council, work together to lease the retail units to a wide variety of entrepreneurial traders and to encourage more footfall within the market. Any surplus funds from the lettings is converted into grants for local charitable causes supporting those in need.

Emily Bullock, GJS Dillon’s Associate Director of Asset Management said ‘We’re delighted to be taking on this new instruction. It is a beautiful building with an interesting mix of tenants and we are looking forward to working with them to build a positive community.’

Bill Simpson, Chairman of the Hopmarket Charity said ‘We are very pleased with the work undertaken by Emily and her team so far. They will play a vital role in ensuring that the Hopmarket continues to be a vibrant community in the heart of the City.’

Image shows from left to right, Emily Bullock, GJS Dillon’s Associate Director of Asset Management and Bill Simpson, Chairman of the Hopmarket Charity

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.