The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
US investor in £60m swoop for retail park
Beach Boulevard retail park in Aberdeen has changed hands in a deal believed to be worth £60 million.
Its new owner is California-based Realty Income Corporation (RIC), a property trust that invests in free-standing, single-tenant commercial properties in the US, UK and Spain.
RIC has acquired the site from abrdn – formerly Standard Life Aberdeen – following a hotly contested bidding process, according to real estate industry website React News.
The seller reportedly knocked back offers worth about £40m 18 months ago.
It is the RIC’s second major purchase in Aberdeen, having acquired Garthdee Retail Park in a deal worth nearly £33m.
Based in San Diego, it owns Hermiston Gait shopping centre in Edinburgh and Kingsgate in East Kilbride.
The company now boasts property assets worth £26.5 billion globally.
Beach Boulevard is the largest retail park in Aberdeen by floor space.
The site offers retail space totalling 225,212 sq ft and its car park can take nearly 1,000 vehicles.
Other tenants include Aldi, Smyths, Dunelm, Pets at Home, Iceland, Pagazzi, Home Bargains, Card Factory and Costa Coffee.
Its sale was brokered by Edinburgh-based agent Sheridan Keane Real Estate Investment.
Another Edinburgh firm, Lismore Real Estate Advisors, represented Realty.
Two other retail parks, shut-down stores and reportedly Union Square shopping centre are at the heart of a flurry of activity in Aberdeen’s commercial property market.
Earlier this week it emerged Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group had put Berryden Retail Park up for sale as part of a retail portfolio expected to fetch upwards of £320m.
Union Square, the Granite City’s biggest shopping centre, is understood to have been lined up for a sale by its owner, Hammerson.
The former John Lewis department store is among the larger city centre sites looking for a new owner after a raft of retail closures in Aberdeen.
John Lewis Partnership (JLP) shut its Granite City shop last August.
This was despite a wellsupported campaign, backed by The Press and Journal and Evening Express, to save the store.
JLP recently instructed property agent Savills to find a buyer.
It is thought the site may be marketed with a price tag of around £5m.
Elsewhere in Aberdeen, Savills is marketing “asset management opportunities” at Centrepoint Retail Park, off Berryden Road and seeking an operator for the new market planned on the site of the former British Home Stores, on Union Street.
Retail parks and some shopping malls are widely seen as a safer bet than high street stores in the current investment market, with many of the latter struggling to counter the impacts of Covid-19 and online shopping.
In its latest review of Scottish commercial property, the Ryden agency said the retail market was “nuanced” but continuing to contract overall.
Ryden added: “The sectors trading strongly or looking to expand continue to be those involved in convenience, food sales, discounters and drive-thru restaurants and coffee operators.
“Retail investment over 2021 was muted.
“General sentiment, weak before the pandemic, diminished further amid lockdown restrictions, store closures and company administrations.”
According to Ryden, shopping centre buyers now tend to be drawn towards sites suited to “repositioning”, or with redevelopment angles, and those geared towards convenience.