M&G Real Estate has acquired The Crown Estate’s 50% stake in the Fort Kinnaird retail centre in Edinburgh for £167 mln (€190 mln).
The investment into the £334.5 mln asset has created a new joint venture with Hercules Unit Trust (HUT). British Land owns 78% of HUT and is the property advisor of the 560,000 sq ft (52,000 m2) asset.
Fort Kinnaird is a retail and leisure destination on the outskirts of Edinburgh with a catchment of more than 800,000 people and an estimated annual footfall of 14 million.
The centre is anchored by M&S, Primark, Next and Odeon cinema. Over 85,000 sq ft of store openings and lettings have been achieved recently including JD Sports, Office, Swarovski, Skechers, Pure Gym and Wagamama.
John Duxbury, head of retail at M&G Real Estate, commented: 'Our partnership at Fort Kinnaird underlines our commitment to prime retail, which continues to prove resilient to competition from e-commerce and reflects our strategy of investing in secure assets with long-term prospects for income and capital appreciation.'
Knight Frank represented M&G Real Estate, and CBRE and Griffiths Eccles represented The Crown Estate.
