Greater Manchester assets traded in £518m portfolio deal
Redevco now controls around £4bn of retail park space across Europe, following the purchase of 16 centres from Oxford Properties.
The portfolio, which includes West One in Eccles and Bolton Gate Retail Park. was assembled by Oxford Properties via the M7 Real Estate specialist platform it acquired in 2021.
Redevco now manages around 200 retail parks, predominantly in Belgium, Germany, Spain and the UK.
Chief executive Neil Slater said: “This acquisition is a welcome addition to our pan-European platform, demonstrating our confidence in this sector. Retail parks combine cash-flow resilience and adaptability, making them a compelling investment.
“Having focused on this sector internationally for years, we’re delighted to supplement our holdings at a fascinating time for the UK market.”
The acquired portfolio encompasses 2.1m sq ft and is anchored by a diversified mix of tenants, including well-established brands in the food, DIY, and discount sectors. The South East accounts for most of the portfolio.
James Boadle, senior vice president at Oxford Properties, said: “This sale crystalises the value we have created through our strategic move into the retail sector during the period of dislocation created by Covid, and by leveraging our M7 Real Estate platform to aggregate and asset manage a high quality, institutional-grade portfolio of retail warehouses.
“The assets were acquired off-market allowing us to gain exposure at an attractive price point and benefit from the arbitrage vs comparable supply chain and urban logistics assets. Having delivered on our business plan we have chosen to divest and recycle capital into new opportunities across the UK and Europe.”
In central Bolton, Bolton Gatre inclufes retailers such as PC World, Currys, Hobbycraft, Sleepmasters, Bensons for Beds, Dreams and Pizza Hut.
The deal was brokered off-market by Glenlyon Real Estate with strategic investment and asset management advice from Staunton Whiteman, CSP and McMullen Real Estate.
CMS provided comprehensive legal support. Oxford Properties and M7 Real Estate were advised by Savills.
David Ebbrell, chief executive of M7, concluded: “Having acquired these assets at a time when we saw deep value in the retail warehouse sector, our asset management teams then undertook a series of income enhancing and value enhancing projects to create an institutional quality portfolio which is well positioned for the future.
“We now look forward to recycling the proceeds of this sale into new opportunities.”
