PGIM acquires 325,000 sq ft Manchester retail park

The international investment giant has bought Manchester Fort in Cheetham Hill from Nuveen.

PGIM’s acquisition of the 325,000  sq ft retail park – a deal fronted by the firm’s recently promoted UK head of equity Shaun Hose – sees the company add to the more than £100bn of real estate assets it currently has under management.

Other North West PGIM assets include Lampwick Quay, a residential scheme in Manchester, and the 635-bed Prospect Point student scheme in Liverpool.

The investor’s return to the retail market, specifically with the acquisition of a large scale, big box scheme like Manchester Fort, will likely raise eyebrows among those who have been keeping an eye on this section of the market.

However, a deal such as this for PGIM has been in the offing for some time. In an interview with PERE last year, PGIM’s head of Europe Sebastiano Ferrante said the investor was looking at re-entering the retail market, suggesting that rents in the sector had probably bottomed out.

Manchester Fort opened in 2004 and is made up of 36 units. The park initially focused on bulky goods, however over the years occupiers have shifted to include retailers such as Next, H&M, Boots, M&S Food, and TK Maxx.

The future of the retail complex has been under the microscope since 2020 when Nuveen said it planned to diversify the offer in the face “threats” to the stability of the retail market.

A strategic regeneration framework for Manchester Fort was also drafted by Turley in 2020 outlining the centre’s future.

It proposed the redevelopment of the 105,000 sq ft B&Q store into flexible retail space and a cinema, while a proposed hotel would be created on the site of the 7,500 sq ft Halfords store.

The reimagined Manchester Fort, would also provide an increased food and beverage offer, adding to the existing F&B tenants including KFC, Nando’s and Greggs, under proposals set out in the SRF.

PGIM and Nuveen were contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.