What we do
In our capacity managing the second and current phase of the Indie Durham City project on behalf of City of Durham Parish Council, one of our main roles is to act as a “Retail Cupid” to matchmake potential occupants with available properties in the city centre.
You can read more about how Retail Cupid works here.
If you are looking for retail premises in Durham – whether you are relocating from an existing unit, or considering the city for the first time – we can offer free advice on what is available and who to contact.
We are also happy to hear from any landlords and agents who might require our help in promoting available properties via our channels, or that are keen to have potential occupants referred on to them.
Either way, drop us a line and we can arrange an initial conversation.
To maintain an attractive mix of uses in the city centre, our strong preference is that vacant retail units are retained for retail use, given the widely held view that Durham’s food and drink offer is now at risk of saturation. Conversely, new leisure uses are welcomed and supported where a unit has a history of being used as a café or restaurant already.
Our overview of currently available properties
As we have noted previously, available retail/leisure premises in Durham are currently in short supply, and there are various retailers wishing to trade in the city who cannot currently find the right space.
Though Prince Bishops Place has the largest cluster of vacant units, this is partly the consequence of no new long-term deals being agreed pending the shopping centre’s planned redevelopment, the timescale for which is still to be confirmed. You can visit the official “The Future of Prince Bishops Place” website here.
However, pop-up and/or short-term (e.g. 12-month) opportunities are being marketed there, and we have already introduced businesses to the scheme on this basis. More details of current opportunities are available here.
Elsewhere in the city centre, mixed retail and leisure scheme The Riverwalk is also now almost fully occupied for the first time, while only one or two units are available in the key thoroughfares of Silver Street, Saddler Street and North Road.
Our list below includes vacant and available units that we are aware of, and we will be adding further details as we get them.
Some other units appear vacant, but are not actually available for rent just yet because of ongoing or planned landlord works (often turning underused upper floors into housing). For completeness, we have also listed these units, alongside a note of explanation in each case.
Properties with particulars below
| Address | Picture | Floor | Usable area | Rent (pa) | Agent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 Saddler Street |  | Ground, 1st, 2nd and 3rd | 918 sq ft | £27,500 | Bradley Hall |
| 25 Silver Street |  | Ground, and basement ancillary | 1,202 sq ft | £30,000 | Graham S Hall |
| 26 Silver Street |  | Ground, and basement ancillary | 1,401 sq ft | £45,000 | Graham S Hall |
| 6-7 Market Place |  | Basement, ground, 1st, 2nd and 3rd | 7,676 sq ft | £125,000 | Reid Birkett |
| 26 Market Place |  | Ground, and basement ancillary | 725 sq ft | £37,500 (+ VAT) | Lofthouse & Partners |
| 3C Old Elvet |  | Ground | 374 sq ft | £18,500 | Bradley Hall or Naylors Gavin Black |
Properties that are vacant but not marketed
| Address | Floor | Former use | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 76 Saddler Street | Ground (1,398 sq ft), plus 1st floor ancillary (1,038 sq ft) and unused 2nd (178 sq ft) and 3rd (unmeasured) | Virgin Money | Was marketed for sublet or assignment (until December 2028), but landlord then took property back with vacant possession after surrender of lease. Understood to have been sold on to a new owner-occupier (but no sign of anything happening on site yet). |
| 17 Silver Street | Ground, 1st, 2nd and 3rd – sizes TBC | Phone Gadget | Landlord has taken back lease after the previous occupant was issued with a closure order. Expected to be marketed in the coming weeks. |
| 19 Silver Street | Ground (414 sq ft) plus basement (307 sq ft) | Carphone Warehouse (retailer closed all its 531 standalone stores across the UK in April 2020) | Briefly marketed by Colliers 2020/21. Still leased to Carphone Warehouse until 23 December 2025, so no movement likely until after then. |
| 22 Silver Street | Ground | Manakeet | Plans to convert the upper floors to housing – which have prompted some objections – are pending approval. A ground-floor retail unit is being retained here, but will need some minor internal changes to separate it from the existing staircase if the HMO proceeds. It seems likely the ground-floor unit will be marketed once that work proceeds. |
| 27-28 Silver Street | Ground | Body Shop | A Graham S Hall board is inviting “all enquiries”, though there are no particulars available on the website. This may be because the upper floors occupied by café Treats prior to its relocation opposite (and already accessed separately) are expected to be converted to housing, and it makes sense to finish these works first. |
Summary details of particular properties
Details on size, rent and rateable value are taken from agents’ publicly available particulars.
All photographs, and comment provided under the “Our thoughts” heading, are are own.
62 Saddler Street
| Full address | 62 Saddler Street, Durham, DH1 3NU. |
| Accommodation | 154 sq ft ground floor sales, 260 sq ft first floor sales, 361 sq ft second floor storage, and 143 sq ft third floor storage (918 sq ft total). |
| Rent | £27,500 per annum. |
| Rateable value | £7,200. |
| Our thoughts | Most recently an art shop and gallery, this Grade II Listed building with an intact 19th century shop front is undoubtedly one of Durham’s most characterful retail buildings, occupying a prominent spot on busy Saddler Street. On the flip side, it is reasonably expensive for the amount of usable floorspace, which spreads over four levels. It really needs an occupant whose product offer and brand would complement these quirks, such as an independent bookshop or boutique, perhaps. |
| Last checked | 13 March 2025. |
| Contact | Bradley Hall. |
25 Silver Street
| Full address | 25 Silver Street, Durham, DH1 3RD. |
| Accommodation | 689 sq ft ground floor sales, plus 513 sq ft lower-ground floor ancillary (1,202 sq ft total). |
| Rent | £30,000 per annum. |
| Rateable value | £15,250. |
| Our thoughts | A prominent and attractive unit on one of Durham’s busiest pedestrianised streets, close to retailers Grape Tree, Moon Jewellery and The Works. Vodafone traded here until it relocated to larger premises nearby. The unit could conceivably be let together with 26 Silver Street next door (see below), to create a larger 1,607 sq ft ground floor space. |
| Last checked | 13 March 2025. |
| Contact | Graham S Hall. |
26 Silver Street
| Full address | 26 Silver Street, Durham, DH1 3RD. |
| Accommodation | 918 sq ft ground floor sales, plus 483 sq ft lower-ground floor ancillary (1,401 sq ft total). |
| Rent | £45,000 per annum. |
| Rateable value | £29,750. |
| Our thoughts | This unit formerly housed computer retailer Select, from whom the lease would be assigned. It is one of the largest and most prominent retail units on busy Silver Street. The unit could conceivably be let together with 25 Silver Street next door (see above), to create a larger 1,607 sq ft ground floor space. |
| Last checked | 13 March 2025. |
| Contact | Graham S Hall. |
6-7 Market Place
| Full address | 6-7 Market Place, Durham, DH1 3RD. |
| Accommodation | 2,655 sq ft ground floor, plus 1,163 sq ft basement, 1,942 sq ft first floor, 1,134 sq ft second floor, 782 sq ft third floor (7,676 sq ft total). |
| Rent | £125,000 per annum. |
| Rateable value | £71,500. |
| Our thoughts | Built for Barclays in 1887, and then vacated by the bank in December 2023, this handsome Grade II Listed building is in a prime Market Place spot. The price is quite competitive for how much floorspace there is, though most potential new retail or leisure occupants are unlikely to have a use for five floors. There will also likely be a lot of stripping out, and removal of internal partitions, to create the space that a new tenant needs. Nevertheless, the property could become a stunning home for the right business. |
| Last checked | 13 March 2025. |
| Contact | Reid Birkett. |
26 Market Place
| Full address | 26 Market Place, Durham, DH1 3NJ. |
| Accommodation | 495 sq ft ground floor sales plus 60 sq ft staff room, and 170 sq ft basement storage (725 sq ft total). |
| Rent | £37,500 +VAT per annum. |
| Rateable value | £21,500. |
| Our thoughts | This is a prime, highly visible and rarely available location in Durham Market Place, formerly occupied by travel agent Dawson & Sanderson. However, the rent is quite high relative to the rest of the Durham market, and the lease to be assigned has only two years left (expiring 24 March 2027), both factors that may account for the property being empty longer than is usual in Durham city centre. Agreeing a new, longer lease would not be out of the question, though. |
| Last checked | 13 March 2025. |
| Contact | Lofthouse & Partners. |
3C Old Elvet
| Full address | 3C Old Elvet, Durham, DH1 3HL. |
| Accommodation | 374 sq ft ground floor sales. |
| Rent | £18,500 per annum. |
| Rateable value | £12,000. |
| Our thoughts | A busy road separates Old Elvet from the core city centre, though this location is close to two of Durham’s biggest hotels (Delta Hotels by Marriott Durham Royal County and Hotel Indigo). The relatively modest rent reflects this non-prime location. Though small, the space is a practical shape and more usable than some of the other options available. Most recently home to an estate agent, this unit was a home furnishings shop before that. It could work well for retail again, but would need to be a distinctive, marketing savvy business that could drive its own footfall. |
| Last checked | 13 March 2025. |
| Contact | Bradley Hall or Naylors Gavin Black. |
Be aware
To the best of our knowledge, all details above were correct at the time of writing, but please check agents’ websites and particulars, where available, for any subsequent changes. If you spot an error, or something that has changed, please let us know.
For a snapshot of the latest options, we suggest searching Completely Retail, though bear in mind that some properties may only appear on local agent websites, or may not be marketed online at all.
Key local commercial property agents that often work in Durham include Graham S Hall, @Retail, Bradley Hall, and Lofthouse & Partners. All list available properties on their websites.
Some national or global real estate companies are also active in the city from time to time.
What this page is for
We will be updating this page regularly with details of, and links to, available commercial premises in Durham city centre.
We find that one of the biggest hurdles faced by potential tenants is where to find information in one place, and we hope this page will be useful on overcoming those barriers.
Can we matchmake where you are?
Our “Retail Cupid” services can help match up expanding businesses with available properties in your town or city.
Get in touch if you are interested in contracting our help wherever you are.
