LaSalle Investment Management has swooped on a £53m pair of shopping centres owned by former Rangers Football Club owner Sir David Murray’s Premier Property Group.
The fund manager has bought the 530,000 sq ft Middleton Grange in Hartlepool, County Durham, and the 230,000 sq ft Four Seasons in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The combined yield is close to 13%.
The Mansfield purchase means LIM will control a quarter of the town’s retail space.
It is planning a £3.5m makeover of the 55-shop centre, which is anchored by Debenhams and also includes a 35,000 sq ft BHS.
LIM said there were greater asset management opportunities at Middleton Grange where there is a low average shop size of around 2,000 sq ft and a high void rate of 25%.
Director Steve Bateman said it was being viewed as a “blank canvas” in terms of refurbishment opportunities. He added: “Its demographic is a bit further down the curve, but we aim to deliver new faces into what is a very difficult environment.”
Last summer, PPG appointed CBRE to sell the two malls, plus the 84,000 sq ft Princes Mall in Edinburgh, for around £120m.
Princes Mall was sold in January to Starwood Capital and Catalyst Capital as part of a £43m sale of other PPG assets, including multilet offices at Kingsgate in Redhill, Surrey, and 26 Cross Street in Manchester, an industrial estate in Edinburgh and a retail parade in Leeds.
nadia.elghamry@estatesgazette.com
