British Land has reignited ambitions to buy a 50% stake in Southgate shopping centre in Bath.
The REIT is in exclusive talks to buy Multi Development’s share in the 420,000 sq ft scheme for around £108m.
It is thought there is circa £112m of debt attached to the stake, with one third held by Blackstone following its acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland’s £1.4bn Project Isobel.
British Land has had a long-running interest in the opportunity, eyeing it when it was first brought to the market in 2011.
Universities Superannuation Scheme pulled out of a deal to buy Multi’s stake in May for just less than £115m after it reportedly had disagreements over the complex transaction structure.
Multi’s half share is managed by Queensberry Real Estate. Aviva Investors retains the remaining 50% and is thought to have bought the freehold.
A successful deal would be British Land’s third big retail transaction of the year after it bought out joint venture partner Tesco’s 50% stake in the 300,000 sq ft Surrey Quays shopping centre in Canada Water, SE16, for £48m in April and purchased the 300,000 sq ft Ealing Broadway shopping centre, W5, for £142.5m in February.
CBRE is acting for British Land; Jones Lang LaSalle is advising Multi.
