Birmingham shopping centre snapped up in £53m deal

A BIRMINGHAM shopping centre is among a portfolio of five which have been sold in a £53m deal.

Specialist real estate investment trust NewRiver Retail, founded by industry veteran David Lockhart, has bought the centres from the CPI Retail Active Management (CReAM) fund.

The centre is in Erdington and the others in the deal are located in Leeds, Hampshire, Sussex and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The properties, over which a fixed charge receiver had been appointed, were acquired indirectly through the acquisition of the special purpose limited partnership which owned them.

The portfolio offers a total approximate lettable area of 518,000 sq ft.

The majority of tenants operate in the food, value and mass market retail market sectors, with key tenants across the portfolio including Tesco, Iceland, Lidl, Argos, New Look, Poundstretcher and Boots.

The transaction was financed with a £34.58m debt facility provided by HSBC Bank and with the proceeds of a 25m convertible loan stock issue listed on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange.

Law firm Eversheds in Leeds advised on the deal. Eversheds has previously advised NewRiver Retail on the acquisition of a portfolio of five UK retail properties from Standard Life for £14m and its conversion to a UK real estate investment trust.

Eversheds Leeds-based real estate partner Stephen Felstead acted on the real estate aspects of the transaction working with colleagues in the firm’s London office corporate and banking teams.

Allan Lockhart, executive property director of NewRiver, said: “The portfolio is an excellent transaction for NewRiver, consistent with the company’s investment strategy of targeting food anchored and value retail centres with stable income profiles and low occupational costs.

“The transaction demonstrates NewRiver’s continuing ability to source attractive deals that complement the company’s disciplined and
well researched investment strategy.”