Lend Lease Corporation has bought a 75% share in the 151,000 sq ft Meadows shopping centre in Chelmsford, Essex.
The Australian developer has acquired the stake from the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society for £60m – a 5.4% equivalent yield.
Liverpool Victoria will retain a 25% stake while Lend Lease will take over all development, asset and property management of the centre.
The Meadows forms the cornerstone of a possible expansion of the retail and residential core of Chelmsford that is currently being promoted by the local authority.
Masterplanning for the redevelopment, known as Chelmer Waterside, has already begun.
The mixed-use development will “substantially increase” the retail offering in the town and includes plans for 400 flats.
Ross Taylor, chief executive for Lend Lease’s retail and communities business, said the acquisition was an excellent fit with the group’s retail and residential strategies in the UK.
“The Meadows centre is ideally located in a strong and relatively affluent growth corridor,” he said. “It has extensive redevelopment and growth potential and it provides us with multiple, recurring earnings streams from ownership, redevelopment and management.”
References: EGi News 21/03/06
