The Grafton Shopping Centre has been placed on the market by current owners M&G Investments, with an asking price of £92.5 million.
Agents Cushman & Wakefield confirm that planning consent is in place for a redesign of the Cambridge site, allowing potential buyers to transform the “tired looking” centre into a more contemporary retail destination.
Charlie Barke of Cushman & Wakefield says; “The Grafton Centre is a fascinating piece of real estate in one of the strongest cities in the UK.
“The centre offers potential purchasers the chance to take a proactive role in shaping the future of Cambridge’s retail provision. There are few better cities to invest in retail in the UK outside London.”
In total, The Grafton Centre comprises of 500,000 sq ft of retail space divided into 84 units, with existing tenants including top high street names such as H&M, Next and New Look. It first opened in 1983 in Cambridge’s Kite district, and last year enjoyed a footfall level of over 9 million.
Yet the sale will not solely concern the main centre itself, as the eventual buyer will also gain adjoining units at 5, 7, 27 and 19-25 Fitzroy Street. It is thought that the refurbishment programme would allow for the inclusion of these units within the main centre, thus increasing the internal floor space and creating highly desirable double fronted units for future anchor tenants.
Should the future owner wish to follow the current retail industry trend of incorporating leisure aspects within the centre, they will find that a significant amount of ground work in this area has already been conducted. During an earlier refurbishment of the centre, an eight screen multiplex cinema was constructed, which is at present leased by national chain Vue.
It is thought that the agents will begin to accept bids for The Grafton Centre later this month, along with a number of surrounding units which may or may not be sold separately depending upon the level of demand.
This process is expected to be rather lengthy as, along with a large catchment of local customers, The Grafton Centre benefits from Cambridge’s tourism industry which attracts around 17 million visitors per year.
The brochure for the centre concludes; “The centre benefits from an existing planning consent for a substantial refurbishment and re-modelling project.
“A purchaser will have the opportunity to initiate exciting plans to re-invigorate Grafton once again to become the favoured shopping destination for the wealthy local population.”
