The Crown Estate has agreed to purchase Rushden Lakes shopping centre in Northamptonshire from LXB for around £70m, reflecting an underlying overall yield of 4.65% for the retail elements of the scheme.
The Crown Estate will then fund all future development costs.
There is currently planning in place for 350,000 sq ft of ground-floor space and LXB is working with the local authority to obtain permission for the remainder of the scheme.
The site was called in by secretary of state Eric Pickles in 2012 following a campaign by landlords in surrounding areas, which had concerns about the scheme’s impact on nearby town centres.
Pickles gave the go-ahead for the site 18 months later.
Marks & Spencer, H&M and Costa have signed prelets and terms have also been agreed with another anchor retailer for 32,000 sq ft.
LXB has also agreed to sell the whole of its Biggleswade investment in Bedfordshire, including the A1 Retail Park, to Aberdeen Asset Management for £58.5m.
LXB chief executive Tim Walton said: “Aberdeen Property Trust and the Crown Estate are both excellent partners for forward funding. In deciding to accept these approaches, the group has significantly de-risked the investment portfolio and benefited by locking into very attractive investment yields.”
