European Retail Fund

Cordea Savills, the international property investment management company, has purchased the Stechford Retail Park in Birmingham for c. £26 million (c. EUR 31 million) on behalf of its European Retail Fund from Lumina Real Estate Capital Special Situations Fund I.

The park comprises 100,000 square foot in 11 units in a densely populated suburb three miles east of the centre of Birmingham. It has excellent transport links and 160,000 people live within a 10-minute drive time. This has created a dedicated and established shopper base that uses the park as the ‘town centre’ for the area. The units are leased to a range of retailers offering discount fashion, homewares, pet supplies, electronics, home furnishings and fast food. The scheme recently benefited from a broadening of the open A1 planning consent to include food retail.

Ian Jones, Director of Investment at Cordea Savills, commented: “Stechford Retail Park has an attractive blend of tenant types and lease lengths, with over 90% of income at a minimum or lower than average risk of failure. There is strong retailer demand for the centre so it can be proactively managed to create further opportunities. It is a valuable addition to our European Retail Fund, which is diversified both regionally and across retail segments, and will complement last year’s acquisitions in Paris, Berlin, and Glasgow.”

Sassan Ahsani, Managing Director of Lumina Real Estate Capital said: “Having acquired Stechford Retail Park in 2011, as part of our asset management strategy we have enhanced the tenant line-up to strengthen the retail park’s overall covenants and drive footfall. Furthermore we broadened the planning consent for the retail park. We have been able to deliver superior returns to investors ahead of time and in excess of our return target.’’

Cordea Savills was advised by Chapman Petrie and Sladen Capital Partners.