Altrincham Sainsbury’s sold for £25.6m

Trafford Council has bought the supermarket on Lloyd Street, Altrincham, for £25.6m.

CBRE acted as the agent on the sale.

The Sainsbury’s was previously owned by private company BLCT, a subsidary of British Land. In April this year, it was announced that British Land sold 12 Sainsburys stores from its joint venture with the company as part of its plan to cut its ties with retail. The store in Altrincham was part of a portfolio worth £429m, and British Land gained £193.5m from the sale.

This acquisition, which completed earlier this year, was revealed as part of a report detailing Trafford Council’s plan to loan £60m to Castlebrooke Investments to refurbish and refinance the 361,000 sq ft CIS Tower.

Despite a downturn in the market for the retailers and supermarkets in recent years, supermarket acquisition prices have remained strong. In November, the 45,000 sq ft Asda on Manchester Road, Stockport, was sold for £13.9m to Palmer Capital Income Fund. In September, another Asda in Altrincham sold for £22.5m to the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

This followed the news that a 25,000 sq ft Aldi in Lytham St Anne’s was purchased in October by LXi REIT as part of a wider £23m investment.

A spokesman for Trafford Council said: “We can confirm that Trafford Council has purchased the Altrincham Sainsbury’s site for £25.59m as part of our ongoing investment strategy. The site will be leased back to Sainsbury’s with all surpluses going back into Council services.”