RETAIL PARK SALEIS '˜WEEKS AWAY'

Property agents and consultants, Savills in Belfast, has confirmed that a UK-based property company is in advance discussions to buy the British Land-owned retail area of the park for 
£14.32 million.

“The area of land is under offer to a UK property company who are working through due diligence and the sale could be completed within a few weeks,” a spokesman for Savills said.

News of the imminent sale comes after British Land (BL) brought three Northern Ireland supermarket anchored retail assets to market last October.

The company appointed Savills to sell the Tesco store on the Highfield Road in Craigavon, the Sainsbury’s anchored Riverside Retail Park in Coleraine, and the 109,847 sq ft Lisnagelvin Shopping Centre which includes a Tesco store and a petrol filling station for a total 56.2m.

It’s believed that BL made the strategic decision to recycle capital out of some of its smaller 100% owned retail parks into the rejuvenation and expansion of larger retail park assets.

The sale of the Coleraine land equates to 74,409 sq feet in an area now occupied by Sainsbury’s, Curry’s and 
Argos stores.

“Any sale is simply a change of ownership and will not affect the traders on the park itself or their businesses. There will be no difference in signage or in trading,” stressed the Savills spokesman.

BL picked up the Lisnagelvin mall as part of a £733m property swap with Tesco completed in March last year and it is on the market for £17.2m.

It bought Craigavon Tesco in 2013 and is asking for offers in the region of £24.68m.

BL and Schroder Real Estate’s specialist retail park fund Hercules Unit Trust (HUT) has already been selectively selling from its £1.5bn portfolio via CBRE.

Last autumn HUT completed the sale of two parks – the the Hylton Riverside retail park near Sunderland and the Hatters Way retail park in Luton - for £45m to European Property Investors Special Opportunities 3, an opportunity fund advised by Tristan Capital Partners.