US privately-held developer-investor Hines has joined forces with German investment company Universal-Investment to acquire a retail asset on Glasgow’s prime shopping street.
The acquisition was made for an institutional real estate fund on the platform of Universal-Investment, administered and managed on behalf of Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), Germany’s largest pension scheme group with €62 bn assets under management.
The deal is part of Hines' €1.3 billion investment mandate from BVK which is targeting prime high street retail assets across Europe. The purchase price was not disclosed.
229-249 Buchanan Street is located in the heart of Glasgow’s retail core, directly opposite the Buchanan Galleries shopping centre. The building, which has a listed façade, is 65% occupied.
The property represents the first acquisition in the UK for the BVK European high street retail account, which Hines was awarded in December 2015.
Jake Walsh, director of Hines UK, said: 'This represented a rare off-market opportunity to acquire a prime retail asset of scale in an excellent location in the city’s retail core. It fully meets our criteria and offers an immediate value add opportunity with the vacant unit.'
Chris Taylor, head of Private Markets at Hermes Investment Management, said: 'The sale of 229-249 Buchanan Street comes at an appropriate time in the market cycle for a value add asset in this location. We will be redeploying the capital from selling the property into other opportunities.'
