Fund manager PRUPIM is in talks to buy the Friary Mall in Guildford in a move that could pave the way for a wider redevelopment of the Surrey town centre.
PRUPIM is lined up to buy the 150,000 sq ft mall from Hermes Real Estate for around £160m – a low 5% yield. Other investors that eyed the opportunity include REITs Land Securities and British Land.
The fund manager’s proposed acquisition is thought to include Hermes’ stake in the 6.2-acre North Street site, which has been earmarked for a 400,000 sq ft retail development by Guildford council.
It would make PRUPIM, which already has an existing stake in the development site, into a major shareholder in the regeneration of the town centre.
The council has shortlisted Land Securities, Lend Lease and Queensberry Real Estate for the North Street redevelopment.
As revealed by Estates Gazette, Hermes began drawing up plans to seek joint venture partners on the Friary Mall as well as the Castlecourt shopping centre in Belfast and the Royal Victoria centre in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in July. It took full ownership of the malls, which total 800,000 sq ft, from Westfield in January.
Cushman & Wakefield is advising Hermes.
