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British Land confirmed today in it's announcement that it has completed the purchase of Drakes Circus Shopping Centre in Plymouth for £240 million. It is understood that this is in conjunction with the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), although their announcement did not mention this. The sale, by Kandahar Real Estate, the vehicle of David Ross, the former Carphone Warehouse boss, originally with Morgan Stanley Real Estate, was driven by Lloyds Banking Group wanting it's debt repaid. Kandahar had the scheme injected into it by MSRE which had had it developed by P&O Estates. It opened in 2006 and was valued at that time at £243 million. In 2007 the portfolio was refinanced with a £460 million combination of facilities from Bank of Scotland. Ross bought out MSRE for a nominal amount after the value of the portfolio crashed reportedly to £300 million. Kandahar breached the LTV covenants in a £247 million BoS facility in 2009 and has done well to realise close to the original value of the scheme after Jones Lang LaSalle and Briant Champion Long conducted a closed bid disposal, which attracted bids from others such as Scottish Widows and Meyer Bergman. Drake Circus, totals 425,000 sq ft, has over 70 retail units in modern retail formats with nearly three quarters of the space in units of over 7,500 sq ft. It is anchored by Primark, Marks & Spencer and Next with other key occupiers including established retailers such as Top Shop, New Look, Boots and H&M as well as newer fast growing retail brands such as Cult/Superdry and Republic. The purchase price represents a net initial yield of 6.0% with significant potential for income growth through asset management initiatives. Chris Grigg, British Land's Chief Executive said: "Drake Circus further adds to our strong portfolio of high quality income generating retail assets in the best locations around the UK. We see significant potential to add value at Drake Circus over the coming years by leveraging our extensive asset management skills and retailer relationships." Looking for Businesses for Sale or Commercial Property for Sale agents, find lettings and investment property in the UK? www.ukbusinessproperty.co.uk
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