RREEF confirms purchase of Durham shopping centre

  RREEF Spezial Invest, part of RREEF Alternative Investments, has confirmed its purchase of Prince Bishops Shopping Centre, Durham, from BlackRock for £60m.   The 155,000 sq ft shopping centre comprises 43 shops in two uncovered malls and includes a 400-space multi-storey car park.   The scheme, which was developed 10 years ago, is anchored by Bhs, Boots and New Look and let to national multiple retailers including Next, River Island, Monsoon, HMV and Superdrug.   Georg Allendorf, head of RREEF Germany, said: “Early in 2008, we embarked on an investment campaign to increase the UK weighting for RREEF’s German institutional fund range.   “The UK shopping centre market continues to offer good value and higher income return, especially where there are the opportunities to acquire dominant city-centre schemes.   “We expect to see further attractive investment opportunities in the UK over the course of 2009 and 2010.”   In July this year, RREEF Spezial Invest GmbH purchased three properties for around €100m (£89m).   They were 25 Moorgate, EC2, a logistics centre located outside Maidstone in Kent, and an office building located in the “La Defense” office district in Paris.   RREEF Spezial Invest GmbH currently manages five special funds for institutional clients with a total value of around €1.7bn (£1.5bn).   Jones Lang LaSalle advised BlackRock; Jackson Criss acted for RREEF.   annabel.dixon@rbi.co.uk