A shopping centre mandate held by King Sturge for more than a decade has fallen victim to the agent’s £197m takeover by Jones Lang LaSalle.
The firm has had to resign as letting agent on Bank of Ireland Private’s 225,000 sq ft Victoria Quarter shopping centre in Leeds owing to conflicts with other instructions in the city.
JLL confirmed that its agreement to find tenants for Land Securities’ 1m sq ft Trinity Leeds development, scheduled to open in 2013, coupled with its recent appointment as letting agent at the REIT’s 685,000 sq ft White Rose shopping centre, had led it to resign its mandate advising Bank of Ireland.
King Sturge was first appointed letting agent on Victoria Quarter by former owner Highstone Estates in 2001 and was retained on the scheme following its sale to Bank of Ireland in 2006 for £126m – a 4% yield.
King Sturge advised on a raft of new lettings at the shopping centre earlier this year, including deals with lingerie retailer Wolford, cosmetics groups Kiehl’s and L’Occitane, and travel agent Kuoni.
Former King Sturge partner Jonathan Newns, who was responsible for the Victoria Quarter instruction, has now left JLL and is understood to be taking the mandate with him to niche Leeds agent Barker Proudlove.
annabel.dixon@estatesgazette.com
