Henderson bags prime London shopping centre for EUR 132m

Henderson Global Investors has acquired the freehold interest in N1 Islington, a prime central London shopping centre, from the Metro Fund for around £112 mln (EUR 132 mln). The price reflects an initial yield of around 5.40%. The centre was purchased on behalf of two funds for Henderson's German joint venture Warburg-Henderson,

N1 Islington was completed in 2002 and comprises 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) of modern commercial space built over four floors together with a 100-space car park. The centre is located in the London district Islington and has approximately 10 million visitors per annum. Anchored by Vue Cinema and H&M which is due to open in late summer 2010, the scheme has a strong retailer line up which includes Gap, Next, French Connection and HMV.

Andrew Creighton, Director of Property at Henderson Global Investors said: 'We recognised an excellent opportunity in this shopping centre which benefits from its prime location within the affluent borough of Islington. We anticipate excellent future growth prospects and see it as a compatible addition to our current portfolio.'

The Metro Fund is a 50-50 London based retail joint venture between Land Securities and Delancey. Commenting on behalf of Metro, Tim Haden Scott of Delancey said: 'The successful sale of the N1 centre reflects the improvements made to the centre through the Metro fund’s active management of the asset. We will now focus on our plans for the remaining assets in the fund.'

Ashley Blake of Land Securities added: 'We are pleased with the successful outcome of the sale and the proceeds will now be recycled into the fund. Looking forward we are improving the retail offer at the Southside shopping centre in Wandsworth through asset management and development activity and will continue to look to drive improved performance across the remaining assets.'

Warburg-Henderson was advised by CB Richard Ellis and Cushman & Wakefield acted for the Metro Fund.