A joint venture between global investment firm Sixth Street and London-based private equity real estate firm Henley Investments has exchanged on the purchase of the Martineau Place shopping centre in Birmingham for an undisclosed amount.
Consisting of nearly 300,000 ft2 (27,900 m2) of retail, food and beverage, and healthcare space, Martineau Place is centrally located in Birmingham between the city’s Colmore Row office core, the new HS2 terminal, and the city’s prime retail area. Current tenants at Martineau Place include Boots, Sainsbury’s, Argos, Poundland and Burger King, with a food occupier-led pedestrianised street known as Martineau Way running through the centre of the scheme.
Nearby, Hammerson is bringing forward the Martineau Galleries redevelopment, which would see 1,300 homes and 1.4 million ft2 of offices built on the Square Shopping Centre, King’s Parade and Dale Street.
Martineau Place was bought by Colony Capital, the Los Angeles-based investor, in 2015. The investor later on sought 'change of use' permission for a string of units to address the centre's high vacancy rate.
The investment follows the joint venture’s completion of Bedfont Lakes in May this year.
Commenting on behalf of the joint venture, Justin Meissel, CIO and managing director Europe of Henley, said: 'Martineau Place sits in a phenomenal, central location, adjacent to the future Curzon Street HS2 terminal, in an area in the nascent stages of regeneration. The high-quality tenant base will continue to benefit from the property’s central location and we look forward to working with tenants to maximise the long-term value of the property. We are actively seeking further investment opportunities in well located existing assets and development sites across the UK.'
BCLP, Avison Young and AGL acted on behalf of the joint venture.
