Birkenhead shopping centres sold for £70m
WARNER Estates has announced that its joint venture with Uberior Investments, Agora Max, has sold The Grange and Pyramid shopping centres in Birkenhead for £70m.
It said the proceeds of the sale to LaSalle Investment Management will be used to reduce the debt within Agora Max – a Jersey-based property unit trust set up six years ago with Uberior Investments, which was a vehicle set up by the former Bank of Scotland to invest both in companies and property ventures. It is now owned by Lloyds Banking Group.
The two shopping centres were the fund’s principal assets and attract rents of around £7.3m a year, according to its website. Warner Estates said the carrying value of the fund had been written down to £nil “some time ago”.
The centres had been put up for sale in May, with Savills appointed to find a buyer. Combined, they comprise around 160,000 sq ft of space and are home to 160 retailers including Marks & Spencer, Next, Republic, River Island and Miss Selfridge.
