Altrincham Retail Park changes hands in £88m deal

Hines has bought the 228,000 sq ft complex from St James’ Place.

The Altrincham asset, which is let to the likes of Lidl, Boots, B&Q, and B&M was the largest of three retail parks Hines has just acquired for its European Core Fund.

The others were Straiton Retail Park Edinburgh, also bought from St James’ Place via Ares Management and Nugent Retail Park in London, previously owned by British Land.

Together, the three assets provide 438,000 sq ft of retail floorspace. Hines is understood to have paid a combined £88m for the Altrincham and Edinburgh schemes. The price of Nugent Retail Park remains undisclosed.

“These acquisitions demonstrate the strength of our local sourcing capabilities and our focus on creating value through active management,” said Ross Blair, head of western Europe at Hines.

“Success comes down to picking the right assets and executing well. We believe these retail parks combine strong fundamentals with clear opportunities to create value over time.”

Altrincham Retail Park last traded in 2017 when the Crown Estate sold it to St James’ Place for £63m at a NIY of 7%.

Since then, St James’ Place has been working to exit the property sector and wind down its funds, including the Property Unit Trust.

Hines’ recognised an opportunity around retail parks based on supply and demand dynamics.

The company said: “The acquisitions come as UK retail parks benefit from a scarcity advantage, with new development at historic lows and resilient occupier demand having supported some of the strongest rental growth of any retail format over the past five years”.