British Land is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to purchase 50% of SouthGate in Bath from Multi Southgate (LP) Limited for £101 million. The remaining 50% is owned by Aviva Investors. The acquisition is expected to complete by the end of September.
SouthGate is a new 430,000 ft² (approx. 39,947 m²), prime open air retail scheme next to Bath Spa railway station which forms the south east quadrant of Bath city center. It first opened in 2009 (phase 1), with the final phase completing in summer 2013. The scheme has 55 retail units, 14 leisure units (including the Vaults restaurant area and public square adjoining the railway station), a car park and 25,000 ft² of office accommodation.
The scheme, anchored by Debenhams, H&M, Topshop and Boots, has also attracted several new, high profile retailers to the city including Hollister, Apple, Urban Outfitters, All Saints and Boux Avenue. SouthGate, which is 93% let, offers some of the best configured retail space in Bath, with two-thirds of the units being larger than 5,000 ft². The car park is the largest in the city, with 860 parking spaces which combined with the top eight retailers, accounts for more than 50% of the rental income from SouthGate.
Bath is a historic city with a UNESCO world heritage status. It is a top five tourist spend location outside London, attracting 4.65 million tourists a year. The center is locally dominant, with a large and affluent catchment of 1.8 million including more than 20,000 university students. The scheme is well located between the railway and bus stations, and the rest of the city, and already benefits from a high annual footfall of 18 million visitors.
Charles Maudsley, Head of Retail for British Land, said: "SouthGate's strong fundamentals, the lack of out of town competition and footfall make it one of the best centers in the South of England. It is well-let, modern and excellently located in a prime market with significant tourist spend.
The scheme has dramatically altered the retail offering in an area historically undersupplied with good quality, well configured retail space. We will build on these fundamentals by completing the final lettings post development, broadening the tenant mix to appeal to a wider customer base, and improving the scheme's presence and experience."
British Land was represented by CBRE and Morgan Williams.
Source: British Land
