Grosvenor is about to buy the 410,000 sq ft Eastgate shopping centre in Inverness from F&C Property Asset Management for more than £170m.
The deal reflects an initial yield of just below 4.5%.
Grosvenor beat competition from five other bidders including Scottish Widows, Merrill Lynch, Edward Wojakovski’s Tonstate Group and a private Irish consortium.
Standard Life Investments and the Scottish Retail Property Limited Partnership a joint venture between British Land and Land Securities – decided not to bid for the shopping centre after showing initial interest.
F&C put Eastgate, which it manages for the Royal & Sun Alliance Life & Pension fund, on the market in April in a bid to limit its exposure to large assets.
Sources said Grosvenor had been keen to invest in Inverness for several years. The centre will be added to its £3450m Shopping Centre Fund.
Eastgate is home to tenants including Debenhams, Zara, Next and Boots.
References: EGi News 27/05/05
