Development Securities buys Chippenham shopping center for €20.48 mln (UK)

A JV between Clearbell Capital LLP and Tristan Capital Partners have sold Borough Parade in Chippenham to Development Securities for £16.325 mln (approx. €20.48 mln). The shopping center which counts Waitrose and New Look as anchor tenants, was the biggest property within the JV’s “Jeeves” portfolio of 29 retail, office and industrial assets and follows subsequent divestments in recent years.
Borough Parade has 29 fully let shops over 87,000 ft² (approx. 8,082 m²). The shopping center has higher-than-average footfall, typically seeing 55,000 visitors per week. Major asset management has taken place under the ownership of the JV, from public realm and branding developments to securing Waitrose as a 5,000 ft² (approx. 465 m²) occupier, as well as bringing in Clarks, O2 and Caffè Nero as new tenants.
Borough Parade links with Chippenham’s pedestrianised high street and is home to a broad selection of retailers. The Body Shop, Argos, Robert Dyas, New Look, Claire’s, Thornton’s, Specsavers and a selection of independent stores are all tenants in the shopping center.
Dominic Moore, Asset Management Director at Clearbell, commented: “It’s always pleasing to see the positive impact of hard-working asset management. We’ve been able to make some big changes at Borough Parade which not only improved the shopping center but the town of Chippenham more generally. At the same time we have successfully raised the value of the asset, and this sale represents an important move in the selling down of this attractive portfolio.”
Jeremy Bullock, Director Portfolio and Asset Management at Tristan Capital Partners said: “The pick up in UK retail values, which has spread to the secondary markets as the broader economic recovery has gathered momentum, along with the added value of significant asset management improvements, provided an opportune time to sell as we had comfortably achieved our return targets.”
Source: HeadLand Consultancy