UK asset manager Rockspring said on Monday that it has acquired the Walnuts shopping centre in Orpington, Kent from a private Kuwaiti investor and Miller Developments for £43.9 mln (€62 mln).

UK asset manager Rockspring said on Monday that it has acquired the Walnuts shopping centre in Orpington, Kent from a private Kuwaiti investor and Miller Developments for £43.9 mln (€62 mln).

The transaction reflects a net initial yield of 6.5% and was carried out for the UK Value 2 Fund. It brings the fund's total aggregate value to over £450 mln.

Walnuts comprises 205,000 sq ft (19,050 m2) of retail and leisure space, as well as a 22,800 sq ft 63-bedroom hotel development which is pre-let to Premier Inn and due for completion in May 2016. The existing shopping centre has tenants including Peacocks, New Look, Argos, The Works and The Entertainer. The new leisure development, totalling 61,450 sq ft, is due to open in February 2016 and includes a seven-screen cinema and restaurant complex and has been majority pre-let to Odeon, Bella Italia, Pure Gym, Dean’s Diner and B&M.

'UK Value 2 is now around 90% invested and Walnuts fits the fund’s strategy perfectly. It is within the M25, off a low rental base, has a strong catchment and provides opportunities for both asset management initiatives and rental growth in the near term,' said Richard Bains, Rockspring partner and fund manager of the UK Value series.

David Milloy, joint managing director of Miller Developments, commented: 'Having completed the development of the new leisure accommodation and secured the hotel pre-letting to Premier Inn, it was a natural point for us to sell our interest having added significant value in the process.'

Rockspring UK Value 2 is the second fund in a sequential, UK-only closed-ended real estate strategy with a core plus risk profile. The fund secured a total of £342 mln of equity from 11 investors.

Rockspring was advised by Strutt and Parker, while the sellers were represented by Cushman and KLM. Miller Developments will project manage the remaining hotel construction works on behalf of Rockspring.