FI Real Estate Management has sold six former Toys ‘R’ Us units in a string of deals worth £30.5m.
The properties sold are in Cardiff, Liverpool, Shrewsbury, Woking, York and Plymouth and combined cover 222,319 sq ft.
The properties in Liverpool, Shrewsbury and York – totalling 91,188 sq ft – were purchased by an unnamed retailer.
The units in Woking and Plymouth were sold to undisclosed buyers. The 40,000 sq ft Cardiff unit was sold to Cardiff Council.
Loan servicing firm Solutus, the special servicer on the Toys ‘R’ Us Debussy CMBS, appointed FI in May to manage the 31 assets in the former Toys ‘R’ Us estate, which have since been relabelled as the Duke portfolio.
The portfolio, comprising mostly UK retail warehouses, is currently owned by Toys ‘R’ Us Properties UK, which has a secured debt of £263m.
A spokesperson for Solutus said: “Although there is much talk of weakness in the retail market, these transactions show that there is still a lot of interest in well-located larger sites that provide opportunities for retailers to expand or for alternate use.”
A spokesperson at FI Real Estate Management, said: “We recognised the appeal of a selection of properties within the Duke portfolio to successful out-of-town retail operators and as prime development opportunities for local authorities.
“The six properties sold to date reflect the healthy appetite for prime sites and demonstrates our ability to unlock asset value by ensuring we utilise an intelligent and appropriate commercial approach. We are also in the final stages of securing a further four sales and are in negotiations to split a number of the units to let to strong retail brands.”
Cushman & Wakefield and Morgan Williams have been managing the sales.
To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette
