European property investment firm Rockspring Property Investment Managers continues to be one of the UK’s most successful investors in the shopping centre sector, with numerous acquisitions giving the firm a strong foothold in the increasingly profitable field.
This has seen the firm purchase the Green Lanes Shopping Centre in Barnstaple in a £36.1 million deal, which will now become the focus of an intensive asset management programme designed to draw even more high profile retail tenants to the market town.
Although the deal was completed in December 2014, seeing the freehold of the centre pass from former owner British Land early in the New Year, Rockspring has only just completed a review into potential redevelopment of the site.
It will now seek to “reposition and improve” the centre’s offering for local residents and visitors to the area, with the end result hopefully encouraging a greater level of spending in North Devon’s retail economy.
Associate partner at Rockspring, Mischa Davis, says; “Acquiring Green Lanes adds a long term asset to the portfolio, providing defensive income properties and plenty of opportunity to add capital value through repositioning the scheme and improving the retail offer.”
In a statement, the firm added; “We have identified further investment into Green Lanes Shopping Centre and are in discussions with the council to progress these, helping to deliver an attractive retail offer to Barnstaple town centre.”
Green Lanes Shopping Centre currently comprises 40 units spread over 140,000 sq ft along with a 500 space car park, and boasts big-name tenants such as New Look, Topshop, BHS and Monsoon. However, it is believed that the diversity of the tenant mix is soon to expand as Rockspring has entered into discussions with a number of as-yet unnamed brands.
One of the major upcoming changes to the centre will be the completion of a new 23,000 sq ft anchor unit, which has already been earmarked for designer discounter TK Maxx. This is expected to open later this summer, with news of the deal proving popular with Green Lanes’ 100,000 weekly visitors.
The retailer has already signed the 15 year lease agreement for the unit, which will be split over two floors in its own purpose built extension. Altogether, it is believed the arrival of TK Maxx to the town will create 35 new jobs, with further positions in the pipeline as increasing numbers of retailers take up space within the centre.
Barnstaple town centre manager Craig Bulley believes Rockspring’s commitment to diversifying Green Lanes’ tenant mix will be beneficial for the town as a whole.
He says; “From a town centre point perspective it is great we have got a company on board which would appear to be keen to invest in the centre, which can only be a good thing for Barnstaple as a whole.”
