Henderson Global Investors is to put £350m of property, including its holdings in the Bullring and Bluewater shopping centres, into a new Jersey-based property fund which is expected to grow to £1bn.
Henderson owns a third of the £750m Bullring centre in Birmingham through two funds. It will transfer only its 16.6% stake held through Pearl into the Henderson UK Shopping Centre Fund.
The company is also an investor in the Lend Lease Retail Partnership, which owns around 25% of Bluewater in Kent and the entirety of the Touchwood shopping centre in Solihull. Henderson’s stake in the partnership is worth around £30m and will also be transferred into the new fund.
Henderson’s holdings in Glasgow’s Buchanan Galleries and Princes Quay in Hull will also be transferred into the fund. Buchanan Galleries is owned jointly with Slough Estates, while Clerical Medical has a stake in Princes Quay.
The fund will have a 10-year lifespan and the first four years will be dedicated to expansion. It will have a minimum investment level of £250,000. The fund will be launched at the end of the week, with the initial marketing and equity raising carried out by the end of July.
The move will mean that Henderson, with five Jersey property unit trusts, manages more offshore funds than any of its rivals.
Neil Varnham, Director of Retail at Henderson, said the fund would focus on “dominant assets in large cities”. He added: “The focus is on well-anchored, top 50 centres, but there is also development exposure such as plans to extend Buchanan Galleries.”
www.efreeman.co.uk
Source: Freeman / Estates Gazette
