LaSalle Investment Management, on behalf of Coal Pension Properties Limited, has sold The St James shopping center in Edinburgh to private Irish investors for £169.32 million, equating to an initial yield of circa 3.9%.
The St James is Edinburgh's principal shopping center with 65 shops let predominantly to High Street multiple brands. The center is anchored by a John Lewis department store of 21,366 m² and also includes St James House, a 22,220 m² office building let to the Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, a 143 bedroom Thistle Hotel and multi storey car parking for 556 cars. The St James is adjacent to The Walk which is home to, among others, Harvey Nichols. Louis Vuitton, Emporio Armani and Daks. The Walk was developed by LaSalle on behalf of CPPL and was not included in the sale.
Jones Lang LaSalle, McClure Naismith and Lovells acted for CPPL and BTW Shiells, McKibbin and Semple Fraser acted for purchaser.
Steve Spray, Director of LaSalle for Scotland, said: "We are very pleased with the sale. As expected, The St James attracted considerable interest and the purchaser's team worked closely with us to achieve the sale in such a short period of time."
"Our clients are delighted to have secured the shopping center investment against some considerable competition. We look forward to working closely with everyone in Edinburgh to take this scheme forward", commented Donall McCann of BTWShiells.
Stephan Scott, head of the property team at commercial lawyers McClure Naismith, who acted for LaSalle, said: "The sale is a major deal for Scotland's retail sector and demonstrates that, in spite of the rapid growth in online retailing, there is still considerable interest from investors in shopping centers and high street retailing."
Source: LaSalle Investment Management
