British Land has acquired a portfolio of properties in London from Wereldhave for £183.8 million. The most significant asset in the portfolio is Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre which has been purchased for £142.5 million (approx. 167 million) by way of share acquisition, representing a net initial yield of 6.9%.
The portfolio also includes five retail and office properties in Baker Street, Chiswick High Road, Putney High Street Fulham Road and Great Portland Street which were purchased for £41.3 million (approx. 48.4 million), a net initial yield of 5.0% rising to 6.1% when fully let.
Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre has 300,000 ft² (approx. 27,870 m²) of retail and leisure space (including a Virgin Active Gym), 800 car parking spaces and a multi-let office. The 7.5 acre freehold shopping center, which has recently been refurbished and has over 60 retail units, is anchored by Primark, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, River Island and H&M with other occupiers including Boots, Jack & Jones 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 center 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).
Charles Maudsley, Head of Retail, said: "We are delighted to have bought Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre. It is a highly attractive retail destination which meets the needs of today's consumers for convenient, well-located shopping. We believe there are significant opportunities to grow and develop the shopping center as a retail destination both as we further improve the retail mix and increase the leisure offer and as the area benefits from residential development and the completion of Crossrail."
Jackson Criss and Strutt & Parker acted for British Land.
Source: British Land
