You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Sovereign adds £27m shopping centre to commercial portfolio
Sovereign Housing has completed its largest ever commercial property investment with a £27.2m deal with BlackRock UK Property Fund to buy a shopping centre and a car park in Bristol.
The association has purchased the 1980s-built Clifton Down shopping centre and its 350-vehicle car park, which together cover three acres of land in total.
The 60,000-home association said the income generated from ownership of the shopping centre and adjacent land means it will be able to deliver additional affordable housing across the South of England as well as improve existing homes.
Sovereign said the deal marked a “step change” in its development ambitions, which will see the association becoming more land-led in its development strategy.
Tom Titherington, executive director of development and commercial at Sovereign, said: “We have ambitions around taking more of a land-led approach and the control that gives us in our development plans, and so we are delighted to have secured the Clifton Down shopping centre and the adjacent land.
“This is a retail-led, mixed-use investment and is a really exciting opportunity for us as a business.
“The income will allow us to increase our development programme, and in the medium to long term there is the potential to redevelop the site to create a sustainable major mixed-use development to include affordable and market housing.”
READ MORE
The deal comes as BlackRock UK Property Fund – a subsidiary of financial services giant BlackRock – aims to reduce its exposure to retail property.
According to credit rating agency Fitch Ratings, the coronavirus pandemic has seen low rent collection rates for rated UK property companies’ retail portfolios and it expects average rent reductions for retail units of between 10% and 15%. Retailers have also benefitted from a moratorium on evictions which will run until the end of December.
James Gibson, development director at Sovereign, added: “It is fantastic for us and the area. It is the largest commercial investment owned by Sovereign and it is really good news for the business, especially in the current climate.”
Sovereign was represented in the transaction by Savills and Knight Frank represented BlackRock.
