Oldham Tesco changes hands in £54m deal 

Kuwait Business Town Real Estate Company has acquired the 149,000 sq ft store and an accompanying retail parade from a Qatari institutional investor represented by London-based Jade Merchant Bank. 

The £54m deal comes three years after the unnamed Qatari investor bought the Huddersfield Road shop from construction firm Bowmer + Kirkland. Tesco has a 13-year unexpired lease on the building.

The acquisition is Kuwait Business Town Real Estate Company’s first UK investment. The Kuwait-based real estate investment company was established in 1999 and listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in 2008.

Feras Al-Kandari, chairman of Jade Merchant Bank, said: “The appetite among our Gulf Cooperation Council investors remains strong for quality UK real estate. 

“We are particularly pleased to have brought a new equity investor from Kuwait to the UK market, demonstrating the trust that our clients have in the Jade Merchant Bank team.” 

The investment was financed by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, which provided a Shariah-compliant senior debt facility to the investor.
 
Jade Merchant Bank’s investment director Stuart Jarvis added: “The UK supermarket sector is one that has shown resilience over the past year, with stores quickly adapting to changing consumer demands. 

“We expect to see further deal flow in this sector and look forward to reviewing on behalf of our clients, whose demand for well let UK real estate continues to grow.”