Aby Rosen Gives Gymshark First U.S. Location

Fitness apparel company Gymshark is leasing 15,000 square feet at Aby Rosen’s 11 Bond Street in Noho, the Commercial Observer reported.

The deal represents the first brick-and-mortar space for the United Kingdom-based company in the United States.

Asking rent at the RFR property, the entire building, was $3.5 million per year. It’s unclear how long the lease is for, but it’s being described as “long term.”

Retail by MONA’s Brandon Singer represented the landlord in lease negotiations, while CBRE’s Joel Stephen represented the tenant.

RFR acquired the property two years ago from CP Capital for $19.8 million and proceeded to renovate it.

Ben Francis launched Gymshark in 2012 as an online marketplace for exercise apparel. The company started facilitating in-person events and pop-ups before opening its first store in London three years ago. In addition to a pair of London stores and a location in Dubai, the company is planning stores in Manchester and Amsterdam.

For Aby Rosen and RFR, the lease is one less weight on their increasingly heavy shoulders.

In recent months, Rosen and Michael Fuchs’ RFR Holding have faced several foreclosure filings. Bondholders on a $219 million CMBS loan tied to the Grand Central office tower at 285 Madison Avenue filed to foreclose six weeks after default.

In December, RFR faced pre-foreclosure at 17 State Street in the Financial District and at the Empire Condominium, 188 East 78th Street on the Upper East Side, following defaults.

And last month, a judge ruled that RFR’s ground lease with Cooper Union at the iconic Chrysler Building skyscraper was terminated, ordering Rosen’s company to be ejected from the property.

— Holden Walter-Warner