British Land has added to its retail portfolio in a deal that sees the property company assume ownership of Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre. The 300,000 sq ft mall is the centrepiece of a £184m deal with Dutch fund Wereldhave which has now withdrawn from the UK property market.
The shopping centre, which is conveniently situated in the centre of Ealing with a catchment area of 1.6 million, will benefit from the arrival of Crossrail in 2018. This will cut journey times from Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf to 19 and 26 minutes respectively. Heathrow will be just 13 minutes away.
New developments in the area are expected to further add to Ealing’s appeal. These include a leisure development and a new residential quarter. The centre has recently undergone refurbishment and contains over 60 retail units. The anchor tenants include Primark, Marks & Spencer, River Island and Wagamama. The purchase will provide an initial net yield of 6.9 per cent.
Charles Maudsley, head of retail at British Land, describes Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre as a ‘highly attractive retail destination’ that the company is ‘delighted’ to acquire.
“We believe there are significant opportunities to grow and develop the shopping centre as a retail destination, both as we further improve the retail mix and increase the leisure offer, and as the area benefits from residential development and the completion of Crossrail,” he said.
The deal with Wereldhave also includes smaller retail and office properties in London and represents a further streamlining of the company’s portfolio towards high quality retail and Central London office assets. Retail properties now account for 60 per cent of British Land’s portfolio.
This includes 82 retail parks, 92 superstores and 13 shopping centres. Recently British Land announced a joint venture with Hammerson to develop a new £1bn shopping mall in Croydon.
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