Hunter Real Estate Investment Managers (‘Hunter’) has acquired two further retail assets in its Hunter UK Retail Trust, taking total purchases in the closed-end vehicle to £55 million since launching 11 months ago.
In Nottingham, the Hunter UK Retail Trust has purchased 22-26 Listergate, a 16,000 sq ft building in the heart of the city’s retail centre, for £9 million. Extending over three floors and fully let to Marks & Spencer until 2020, the asset sits in a prominent position on the west side of Listergate, one of Nottingham’s principal retailing thoroughfares, adjacent to New Look and opposite popular high street retailers H&M and River Island.
The fund has also acquired a 2,000 sq ft retail unit for £3 million on Princes Street, in the heart of Edinburgh city centre. Arranged over a ground floor and basement, the property is let to Hotter Shoes until 2022. The unit benefits from its enviable location on Princes Street, Edinburgh’s prime retailing thoroughfare which has the highest footfall in the city centre, estimated at around 12 million visitors per year.
The latest round of purchases in the fund takes total acquisitions over the last month to £34 million, with Hunter having also recently acquired assets in Bristol, Aberdeen and Edinburgh for a total of £21.3 million.
The acquisitions are in line with Hunter UK Retail Trust’s strategy to invest in blocks of underutilised assets situated in desirable high street-led locations across the UK. This includes assets in thriving town centres catering to affluent, upper quartile catchment areas with strong retail and leisure offerings.
Commenting on the deals, Andrew Moffat, Fund Manager at Hunter, said:
“This latest round of acquisitions is a clear demonstration of our overall fund strategy for the Hunter UK Retail Trust to invest in quality assets located in thriving retail hubs around the UK. We are delighted to see pass the significant milestone of £50 million of acquisitions.”
CBRE acted for Hunter in Nottingham and Capita acted for Hunter in Edinburgh.