LaSalle International Management has been named as the preferred new owner for Warrington’s Golden Square shopping centre. Confirmation of the £115m deal comes just days after the release of new figures showing industrial property take-up in the Cheshire town is the highest since 1998.
The 764,000sq ft town centre retail site is owned by Warrington Retail Partnership, a joint venture between Lend Lease and Legal & General. Originally developed by the insurance company, Lend Lease bought a half-share in Golden Square in 2005 with its £20m investment used to double the size of the complex. With 140 retailers, and the arrival of Primark just before Christmas, the centre has few vacant units; one reason for the initial burst of “aggressive” bidders none of which, however, would go as far as the initial £125m asking price.
Warrington & Co, the town’s economic development body, is also working with Muse Developments on a £52m regeneration project for nearby Bridge Street which will see the relocation of the town’s market to make way for new offices and leisure units. “LaSalle is the preferred bidder for Golden Square and, if that deal concludes, it’s likely it will be making a considerable investment in Golden Square along with our investment in Bridge Street,” said Steven Broomhead, the chair of Warrington & Co.
He was speaking at the publication of the town council’s annual property report which is showing some “exceptional findings” especially in the industrial investment and take-up sector.
Launched sixteen years ago to monitor activity in the local commercial and residential property market, this year’s review shows commercial property take-up for 2013 was the highest since the reports began with a total take-up of nearly two-million square feet million — 31 per cent higher than the previous 2010 record.
In all £140m worth of assets were traded, a year-on-year rise of 75 per cent. The two biggest deals were Standard Life’s £58.6m acquisition of the new Travis Perkins warehouse, currently being built at the Omega development site straddling the M62 motorway, and LaSalle’s £14m purchase of the new Hermes building on another part of 226-hectare site.
“Following the national trend, while there is still an oversupply of vacant office space, Warrington has seen its highest level of activity since 2001,” says the propriety report. “Take-up exceeded 323,000sq ft and 46 businesses chose to relocate to Warrington. A number of large headquarter moves helped contribute to this success, including MDS and Golden Gates Housing Trust.”
Developers and investors have rightly seen Warrington as a safe bet, not just this year, but since we started publishing these reports, added Broomhead. “One thing is for certain, Warrington is no longer a town on the up, it is already there. The task ahead is to maintain and grow that position and re-energise the town centre.
“Last year we announced project investment plans totalling £476m of which £220m is either built or underway — we are driving Warrington forward like never before.”
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