Land Secs sells UK mall for 6.9% yield

Land Securities is selling the Bridges shopping centre in the northeastern UK city of Sunderland to clients of AEW Europe for £152 mln (€190 mln).

The deal reflects a net initial yield of 6.9%.

The Bridges mall totals 550,000 sq ft (51,000 m2) and is anchored by a Debenhams department store with a further 100 shops including Foot Locker, Superdry and TopShop.

Land Securities bought The Bridges in 1993 and extended the centre in 2000.

'Our retail strategy is to move the portfolio towards dominance, experience and convenience. The Bridges trades well currently but is not part of our strategic focus, and the strong market conditions for retail assets have allowed us to move quickly to crystallise value from the asset,' said Scott Parsons, managing director of retail at Land Securities.