Royal London Asset Management is buying Hermes’ 7.5% stake in Bluewater shopping centre, Kent, for £155m.
Hermes put its stake in the 1.8m sq ft mall up for sale in January and instructed HP4 to find a buyer with an original asking price of £167m.
Hermes has been one of the principal owners of Bluewater since it opened in 1999. The sale of its stake also includes a seat at the board of the shopping centre.
Other stakeholders GIC and Lendlease are also selling their combined stakes, valued at £1bn, in a process being run by Macquire and Knight Frank.
The sale of Hermes’ stake at £155m values Bluewater at £2.1bn.
Coady Supple is acting for Royal London.
Michael Lawrence, head of retail at Royal London Asset Management, said: “This acquisition of Hermes Investment Management’s 7.5% stake in Bluewater shopping centre represents a strong new addition to our portfolio, as we continue to target high quality assets in the retail space. As one of the biggest shopping centres in the UK and Europe, this new holding provides us with a good opportunity to invest in one of the region’s most popular shopping destinations.
Chris Taylor, head of private markets at Hermes Investment Management, said: “As we continue to diversify our global portfolio, this sale of our 7.5% stake in Bluewater shopping centre is a good result for the fund. It leaves us well placed to focus on our strategy of re-deploying capital into the market, as well as identifying new acquisitions where we believe additional value can be added through asset management.”
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