British Land is pleased to announce that it has acquired the Crystal House Block in Ealing Broadway from a Northern Irish based private investor for £28.8 million (approx. €34.31 million), reflecting a net initial yield of 5.95%.
The block forms one of the three entrances to Ealing Broadway Shopping Center which British Land acquired in February 2013 and provides single ownership of the entire center for the first time in the scheme’s 30 year history.
The Crystal House Block, which fronts The Broadway, comprises 32,000 ft² (approx. 2,972 m²) of retail across 13 ground floor units, a 21,000 ft² (approx. 1,950 m²) office block above and 125 car parking spaces. Key retail tenants include The Body Shop, Monsoon, The Perfume Shop and Ernest Jones.
Charles Maudsley, Head of Retail for British Land, said: “The acquisition of the front section of Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre unlocks significant opportunities to grow and develop the entire center by continuing to improve the retail mix and increasing the leisure offer. Ealing Broadway continues to improve as the area benefits from residential development and the completion of Crossrail.”
Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre now comprises 330,000 ft² (approx. 30,658 m²) of retail and leisure space (including a Virgin Active Gym), 800 car parking spaces and a multi-let office. The 8.2 acre freehold shopping center, which has been refurbished and has over 70 retail units, is anchored by Primark, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, River Island and H&M with other occupiers including Boots and Wagamama.
Ealing Broadway is an attractive convenient shopping destination in West London, well located in the center of Ealing and close to the train and tube station. It dominates the retail offer in the town center and has an annual footfall of around 15 million. It has an affluent catchment of 1.6 million people, with over a third in the key retail spending group of 25-44 year olds. Looking forward, the scheme is expected to benefit from significant levels of development in Ealing, including a new leisure scheme, the Dickens Yard residential quarter and Crossrail. Crossrail, which completes in 2018, will lead to shorter journey times from Heathrow (13 minutes), Liverpool Street (19 minutes) and Canary Wharf (26 minutes).
British Land was represented by Cushman & Wakefield and Knight Frank. The vendor was represented by Belfast based BTWShiells.
Source: British Land
