South African retail tycoon Christo Wiese is under offer to buy a secondary mall in Bolton for nearly £5m above asking.
The billionaire is buying the 400,000 sq ft Market Place shopping centre in Greater Manchester through UK-based Moorgarth, in which he is a majority shareholder.
The group is understood to be paying close to £24m – significantly in excess of the £19.5m – 9.6% yield – price tag.
Market Place, the last of Warner Estate’s Agora shopping centres, was brought to market in October by receivers at Deloitte. It is thought to have attracted up to nine offers from a variety of bidders. The property was bought by Agora in 2002 for £67m, with £40m spent refurbishing it.
A source said: “Wiese will invest a lot of money into the scheme, potentially boosting the retail and leisure offer. He can breathe new life into the shopping centre.”
Moorgarth manages a circa £50m portfolio comprising properties across the industrial, leisure, office and retail sectors. It wants to expand and acquire high-yielding shopping centres. It bought a Glaswegian mall for a 13% yield earlier this year.
Wiese, who is South Africa’s third richest man, according to Forbes, is focusing on the UK property market after his offshore investment company, Tradehold, sold its remaining retail investment last year.
He is eyeing several UK retailers, including a potential takeover of Sir Philip Green’s Bhs chain, and has teamed up with former Asda chief Andy Bond to find possible acquisitions.
Wiese has a $3.5bn (£2.2bn) fortune and is chairman and the largest shareholder of Africa’s biggest retailer, supermarket chain Shoprite. He also owns a large stake in discount clothes, shoes and textiles chain Pepkor.
Coady Supple is acting for Deloitte; HP Four is advising Moorgarth. All parties declined to comment.
annabel.dixon@estatesgazette.com
