British Land has bought the Queensmare and the Observatory, two adjacent freehold shopping centers forming Slough’s retail heart. The price was ₤192 million and the equivalent yield is 6.3%. The Company already owns the linking 80,000 sq ft Allders Department Store.
The Queensmare and Observatory Centers now provide 565,000 sq ft of accommodation, primarily shopping, with a office element too. Included in the purchase are two car parks with 1,600 spaces.
Together the two shopping centers comprise 45% of the entire retail provision within Slough. They are the only two covered schemes in town. Additionally, Queensmare is linked to the neighboring Marks & Spencer store, which has a return frontage into the scheme.
Queensmare’s principal tenants, anchored by Littlewoods and Allders, are Woolworth, New Look and Top Shop. The Observatory has Primark, T.K. Maxx and Argos.
There is considerable scope for improvement through asset management initiatives and rationalization, which could include linking the two centers.
CCRE acted for British Land and DTZ for the seller.
Source: British Land
