Developer enjoys stellar success in wake of £90m Morrisons deal

Yorkshire property developer Opus North has recently acquired a trio of assets in a sale and leaseback deal worth £90m with supermarket group Morrisons.

The purchase comprised two major supermarkets and shopping centres in Hunslet and Sheffield, leased to Morrisons, and a further shopping centre in Widnes.

Altogether, apart from the two supermarkets, the portfolio consisted of a total of 86 units, including shops and offices.

During the past 12 months, Opus North has completed 32 deals and lease renewals across the portfolio.

These include lease renewals to tenants including Rymans, Peacocks, Blueprint Menswear, The Fragrance Shop and Carphone Warehouse at Green Oaks shopping centre in Widnes. New tenants include Pandora and Mangobean Café.

Robb Smillie, retail and leisure specialist with Opus North, said: “This means that the centre is now fully let. We are now undertaking refurbishment work at the centre to create new units to meet occupier demand.

“Meanwhile at Penny Hill, Hunslet, we have completed lease renewals to tenants including Card Factory, Greggs, Fulton Foods and Lloyds Bank, while securing new tenants including St Gemma’s Hospice and Penny Hill Fisheries. We have also relocated the Post Office to a larger unit within the scheme,” he said.

At Hillsborough Barracks, Opus North has refurbished and re-branded the former Sheffield College space into Barracks House, containing 10,000 sq ft of office space and 3,000 sq ft of ground floor retail space.

Smillie said: “We have subsequently let 6,000 sq ft of the office space to Lightworks Design on a 10-year lease, as well as completing a 10-year lease renewal for the Department of Work and Pensions and Job Centre, for their 14,800 sq ft units at Lancer Court and Cavalry Court.”

“We have also completed new retail lettings and lease renewals to tenants including Extra Care Charity Trust, JoJo’s Tot Spot Café, Parkgate Mobility and Maxim’s Hairdressers,” he added.