UK - LaSalle Investment Management has purchased 50% stakes in two UK retail parks on behalf of the HSBC Bank Pension Trust.

The interests in Deepdale Retail Park in Preston and Eastgate Retail Park in Bristol were bought from Hercules Unit Trust, which has been selling assets to reduce its loan-to-value ratio.

Hercules, a UK retail warehouse fund run by British Land and Schroders, also sold the Silverlink Retail Park near Newcastle to HSBC Bank Pension Trust earlier in the year.

The stakes in Deepdale and Eastgate retail parks were acquired for £58m (€65.8m) and £19m, respectively, together reflecting a yield of 7.3%, according to British Land.

Hercules has also recently sold two other retail parks - Malvern Retail Park to Consolidated Property Group Investors for £48m and Waterfields Retail Park to Warburg-Henderson for £41m.

The four retail park sales are the latest in a long line of disposals by Hercules this year, amounting to a total of £380m.

Hercules also received a £100m capital injection from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) earlier in the year.

"Completion of these sales means that the trust has now moved from being a net disposer into a new acquisition phase," said Andrew Jones, director at British Land.

"The receipts from these sales, together with the £200m of capital raised from CPPIB and existing investors, will give us terrific fire power in a market that will throw up some tremendous opportunities."

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