M Core acquires Southport retail park
The investment conglomerate has acquired the 214,300 sq ft Ocean Plaza in an off-market, multi-million-pound deal.
While neither the sale price nor the former owner of the retail park was disclosed, HM Land Registry data shows that the property was last purchased by two Citigroup Centre-based CIP Threadneedle UK Property Nominee entities in 2017 for £36.5m.
Ocean Plaza counts Dunelm and Matalan as its anchors for its 97,100 retail park. Other tenants include Pizza Hut and Pets at Home.
The 117,200 sq ft leisure side of the plaza comprises an eight-screen Vue cinema, 20-lane bowling alley, and health and fitness centre
New owner M Core is made up of investment and management companies LCP Group, Proudreed, Sheet Anchor, and Evolve Estates.
The Ocean Plaza purchase follows LCP’s acquisition of nearby Central 12 Retail Park earlier this month.
Speaking of M Core’s Ocean Plaza purchase, LCP managing director James Buchanan said: “We’ve long demonstrated an appetite for investing in retail parades and centres throughout the UK, and this is not abating.
“Not only are these superb investments, acquisitions such as Ocean Plaza also provide us with a good opportunity to add value.”
Buchanan said that M Core has a “healthy pipeline of acquisitions”. The company is on the lookout to continue growing its portfolio, with £300m available for acquisitions.
For a sense of M Core’s activity – it has invested more than £373m across 61 properties over the past two years. M Core said it is actively seeking to invest in more commercial property.
Barry Flint, director at LCP, explained M Core’s strategy: “Our experienced intensive asset management teams understand the market and our local teams have an in-depth knowledge of the communities they work in.
“Together, this means we can target the right kinds of tenants, whether they are high street names or independent traders, to the right place for them,” he continued.
“It’s a strategy that works and it’s why we have a black book of contacts, waiting to locate to our centres. We recognise there’s a great deal of potential to add value in the leisure part of the park and we look forward to announcing new tenants soon.”
Morgan Williams represented the unnamed vendor on the Ocean Plaza deal, while Simon Lewis of Lewis Ellis was the agent for M Core. Catherine Gunz at Osborne Clarke offered M Core legal advice.
