Landsec has completed the acquisition of an additional 25% share in the 1.6m sq ft Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.
The deal, first revealed last month as part of a retail shopping spree for the REIT, sees Landsec buy the stake from the Lendlease Retail Partnership for £172m – a net initial yield of 8.15% and an equivalent yield of 8.25%.
In a separate deal, Landsec will sell 25% of this share to co-owner M&G for its pro rata share of the purchase price. That deal will complete in April 2022, at which point Landsec’s ownership of Bluewater will be 48.75%.
Bruce Findlay, managing director of retail at Landsec, said: “We’re making this acquisition at a time when retail values and rents are starting to stabilise. Together with our co-owners, we have a clear vision for Bluewater which builds on what is already a thriving retail destination. This investment underlines our strategic commitment to major retail destinations that offer something that can’t easily be replicated online.”
Landsec bought a 30% stake in Bluewater in 2014 for £656m. Other owners of the mall include M&G Real Estate and GIC, Royal London Asset Management and Aberdeen Standard Investments.
Earlier this year, Landsec highlighted its intentions to buy cut-price shopping centres, with chief executive Mark Allan underlining their growing upside potential. At the time he said the sector was “on the agenda in a way that it won’t have been in the previous few years”.
CBRE advised Lendlease Retail Partnership on the sale.
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