Kilmartin/Bluemantle jv buys Preston’s Miller Arcade

  A joint venture between Edinburgh-based developer Kilmartin and Cheshire-based family firm Bluemantle has bought the Miller Arcade in Preston from Maple Grove for £8.6m, representing an initial yield of 5%.     The 53,148 sq ft Arcade, based on Fishergate and Church Street, fronts Preston’s main retail area and is bounded by the proposed £750m Grosvenor/Lend Lease regeneration scheme, which is proposing 700,000 sq ft of retail, more than 20 restaurants, 550 homes and leisure facilities.   The listed Arcade was built in 1899, and modelled on the Burlington Arcade in London.   The building currently comprises office and retail over five floors, but has been sold with detailed planning consent for residential use on the upper three floors.   Mark Rawstron, senior regional director at GVA Grimley, which advised Maple Grove, said: “The Kilmartin Group and Bluemantle have acquired a milestone building in a location that will see enormous regeneration and that will be an important link between the proposed Grosvenor scheme and the existing prime retail pitch.”   Preston-based Bailey Deakin Hamiltons advised the joint venture.   helen.roxburgh@egi.co.uk