St Modwen puts Great Homer Street units up for sale

St Modwen has put an 83,000 sq ft chunk of its Great Homer Street retail development, currently under construction, on the market for £15.6m, which would reflect a net initial yield of 6.5%.

Colliers International’s retail capital markets team has been instructed by St Modwen to sell the site.

The new-build multi-let development is located 1.5 miles North of Liverpool city centre, and has been pre-let to a range of retailers including B&M, Home Bargains, The Gym Group, Greggs, Subway, Card Factory and Domino’s. The units are positioned opposite a 65,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s foodstore and petrol station, also built by St Modwen and opened in July.

The development, known as Project Jennifer, has been ongoing for 13 years, and the supermarket element went through a number of iterations, dropping from a 110,000 sq ft unit to reflect the changing market conditions.

St Modwen put a total investment value on the 43-acre Great Homer Street of £150m, including a new junction built on Scotland Road, the new Greatie Market, 180 homes, and the Notre Dame Catholic College.

Paul Batho, projects director, St Modwen, said: “Following the successful completion and letting of the new retail units in blocks A/B and Y at Great Homer Street, St Modwen has instructed Colliers International to act on its behalf in marketing this part of the investment. These units make up the large units within the District Centre on Great Homer Street and the smaller units opposite the entrance to Sainsburys.

“As part of St Modwen’s ongoing business strategy,  it will identify investments for sale created by its development activity and recycle the funds raised to reinvest into the area and facilitate further phases of development.

“St Modwen has achieved a number of significant lettings across the new units (approx. 90%) which is testament to the excellent trading location of Great Homer Street and the quality of the environment that has been created.

“St Modwen remains committed to the regeneration of Great Homer Street and will continue with its other pipeline of development activity on-site which includes a further four and a half acres across the scheme.

“The £150m tag associated with the project is an estimate of the total potential investment and all its associated elements for the entire regenerated site. The part currently being marketed by Colliers International represents a small part of that investment.”

Tom Edson, head of out-of-town investment in Colliers International’s retail, managing the sale, said: “This regeneration will create a new hub of activity in North Liverpool, acting as a catalyst for wider redevelopment. 26,600 vehicles pass the scheme each day, equating to 9.7 million annually, so the potential footfall at the scheme will be particularly enticing for investors.

“Out of town retail units of this size and with such well-connected transport links don’t come onto the market too often, making it an excellent investment opportunity.”