Valad Europe, the London-headquartered real estate investment manager, has acquired St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds and a car showroom in Nottingham for a total of £42.5 million (€59 million; $66 million).
St Johns Shopping Centre was purchased from Hermes Investment Management for £37 million. The asset comprises a 79,000 square foot shopping mall comprising 34 units and 83,000 square feet of office space on the first floor. St Johns also includes a 330 space multi-storey car park.
The 42,335 square foot car showroom in Nottingham was acquired for £5.5 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.25 percent. The ground floor comprises several showrooms facing the main road, offices, workshops and a valeting block, while the first floor consists of a café and classrooms. The property also includes a large car park.
“Both of these assets were selected because of their excellent locations in the UK’s Northern Powerhouse and their potential to increase value through smart asset management,” commented Simon Marriott, Valad Europe’s head of UK real estate.
The capital for the two deals came from the firm’s Valad European Diversified Fund (VEDF), an £800 million core-plus/value-add fund which invests in the UK, Germany and France.
“We have now acquired 20 assets for VEDF in the UK and are still looking to deploy further capital across the Fund’s target markets of the UK, Germany and France with strong and continued support from our investors on value-add asset plays,” said Thierry Leleu, Valad Europe’s head of funds management. The firm has now invested £288 million from VEDF in the UK alone.
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