Garness Jones teases Hammonds of Hull tenants

A national restaurant chain and a coffeehouse are on the verge of signing for two units on the ground floor of the former House of Fraser building, with plans to open in spring 2026.

Located at 1 Paragon Square, the ground floor of Hammonds of Hull has been empty since 2023 following the closure of a food hall.

Now, it has been split into four units managed by letting agent Garness Jones, with two spaces of 9,800 sq ft and 2,900 sq ft remaining available.

The agent has yet to name the potential tenants, with Paul White, director of Garness Jones, simply describing the two operators as ‘high quality’ and ‘new to the city’.

A licence for a bowling alley and bar on the ground floor was submitted in January by hospitality company Lane 7, and is still going through the application process.

Since House of Fraser left in 2019, call centre operator ResQ has gradually expanded into all four upper floors of the building, spending its own money as well as £315,000 of  Levelling Up Funds to convert the space into offices.

Yorkshire Maintenance Company, a Hull-based commercial fit-out firm, undertook the refurbishment.

Hull City Council has, however, confirmed that these new businesses will not benefit from external funding.

If the restaurant and coffeehouse do sign on at Hammonds and Lane 7 is successful, this would leave owner and developer Redefine Paragon Square Hull with only the 24,000 sq ft basement left to fill.