The Crown Estate has purchased a £140 mln (€193 mln) out-of-town shopping and leisure development in the English county of Northamptonshire.

The Crown Estate has purchased a £140 mln (€193 mln) out-of-town shopping and leisure development in the English county of Northamptonshire.

Rushden Lakes will span around 37,000 m2 of retail and restaurant accommodation, with prospective tenants including H&M, Marks & Spencer and Coast.

The British royal family’s property estate bought the project site from LXB Retail properties, which has obtained planning permission for the development. The two companies will work together on the project, with construction work beginning in the autumn.

Crown Estate regional portfolio manager Hannah Milne said: ‘Having rapidly become one of the UK’s largest owners of dominant shopping parks, our commitment to Rushden Lakes is an example of our ambition to lead the sector in terms of the quality of our portfolio and our progressive approach to asset management.’

The Crown Estate is a property portfolio managed on behalf of the British monarch that generates revenue for the UK Treasury, with a total asset value of more than €7.3 bn.