Hattersley Tesco sold for £28.6m

Dubai investment firm Rasmala Group has acquired the 100,000 sq ft Tameside supermarket, where the grocer has 15 years remaining on its lease.

Developed in 2012, the asset comprises a large-format Tesco Extra store comprising a 100,365 sq ft net sales area, with attendant customer car park and a petrol station.

The asset is being acquired by the Rasmala Long Income Fund with an unexpired lease term of 15.8 years and will be financed via a £17.1m debt facility provided by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.

Place North West understands that the store was sold on behalf of Middle Eastern clients of Jade Merchant Bank, formerly Rosette Merchant Bank.

Established in 1999, with Deutsche Bank as a founding shareholder, Rasmala is billed as an alternative investment manager that, although primarily set up to serve Gulf investors, seeks investment opportunities across all asset classes for a deep pool of investor clients. It has offices in London and Dubai.

Eric Swats, senior executive officer of Rasmala Investment Bank, the investment manager of the fund, said: “This asset provides an attractive income stream, further geographical and sector diversification to our investors.

“This investment forms part of a broader UK-focused investment programme in which we are looking to make further investments in logistics, living strategies, healthcare and life sciences.”

The Hattersley site forms a key part of the Tesco online grocery fulfilment capacity in the region, providing both home delivery and click and collect to its local catchment area.

Ruggiero Lomonaco, fund manager at Rasmala Long Income Fund, said: “This omni-channel Tesco supermarket fits with our strategy of investing in long term income-producing assets. We continue to build our real estate portfolio with a strong investment pipeline for the rest of the year.”

The Rasmala Group said that it has now invested more than £530m in UK real estate in partnership with Gulf investors, with plans to invest a further £1bn.

Last year, it sold a 1m sq ft Amazon warehouse near Edinburgh to South Korean clients of Knight Frank investment Management, a facility it had acquired with Kuwait’s Kamco Invest in 2017.

Hattersley’s Tesco was consented in 2010, a time when supermarket groups were still pursuing huge sites with vigour.

The development was supported by Peak Valley Housing Association as the first part of a development push in the area that has in reent years seen Maple Grove deliver a retail park anchored by Lidl, also featuring Home Bargains, Crd Factory and Lidl.