Legal & General has agreed to forward fund Burghmuir retail park in Stirling, Scotland, the development being undertaken by Valad Europe’s joint venture with Stirling council.
The fund manager’s UK Property Unit Trust is providing funds for the Stirling Development Agency’s 59,000 sq ft park, which will comprise three shops with an end value of about £18.5m.
Prelets have already been secured on most of the scheme and construction is due to begin soon, with completion targeted for Q1 2013.
The largest 37,300 sq ft shop is prelet to anchor tenant Waitrose on a 25-year lease, and a second shop is prelet to TJX UK, which will trade as TK Maxx, on a 10-year lease.
Situated in Stirling city centre, with frontage and access to Burghmuir Road (A9), one of the main arterial routes through the city, the park is within easy reach of The Thistles shopping centre and will complement Stirling’s existing retail offer.
Valad’s head of Scotland, Andy Richardson, said: “With funding in place and the majority of units prelet, we are looking forward to working alongside Legal & General Property to develop Burghmuir into a prime retail destination in the Stirling area.
“The finished development will give an important boost to the local economy, providing both new jobs and increased commerce on a site that was formerly a dilapidated industrial estate.”
L&G fund manager Matt Jarvis said: “There is a distinct lack of funding available for development projects at present, with the banks having all but withdrawn from providing development finance.
“This is creating some fantastic investment opportunities for us, especially where projects are of high quality and backed by experienced investment partners, such as Valad. LGP believes that funds such as the Property Unit Trust have a significant role to play in enabling these schemes to become a reality, while creating growth opportunities for our investors.”
Valad has a real estate team of 80 in the UK working out of its offices in Edinburgh, London and Leeds, where it manages a number of joint ventures and portfolios across its funds, including DUKE, V+UK, the Industrial Trust and the Advantage Property Income Trust.
Cushman Wakefield acted for L&G; Ryden advised Valad Europe.
bridget.o’connell@estatesgazette.com
