Manor Walks Sold, guess to whom.

[moe19]

Manor walks shopping centre Cramlington  has changed hands,

with Northumberland development company Arch purchasing the 442,802sq ft shopping centre from London-based firm Hammerson.

Ach's new purchase also includes Sainsbury’s and Asda, a nine-screen cinema complex, three office blocks, three car parks, plus the former Northumberland City Council library building.

 

http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2016/07/northumberlands-manor-walks-shopping-centre-to-grow-under-ps78m-acquisition-deal

Edited July 20, 2016 by moe19

[Canny lass]

That's guaranteed to raise a few hackles.

[moe19]

4 hours ago, Canny lass said:

That's guaranteed to raise a few hackles.

I wonder if they rename it Arch Mall or maybe just Archie's 

[moe19]

Local papers have picked up on the story today

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumberland-council-chiefs-criticised-splashing-11641418

 

Council bosses have come under fire for buying a Northumberland shopping centre, while vital council services are being axed.

£78m

It is an enormous amount of money to spend in the south east of the county when day to day services are being cut.

“We recently saw Haydon Bridge Fire Station close and libraries are being moved because the council doesn’t have enough money to keep them going.

[webtrekker]

So, that'll be the end of free parking at Manor Walks then.

[moe19]

5 hours ago, webtrekker said:

So, that'll be the end of free parking at Manor Walks then.

The site consists of two retail parks,Manor walks and Westmoreland retail park, the outside area that has PC, world Marks and Sparks etc,is  Westmoreland Retail park and was not included in the sale and is still owed by Hammerson.

    http://selftrade.co.uk/news/hammerson-exchanges-manor-walks-northumberland

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

12 hours ago, moe19 said:

Council bosses have come under fire for buying a Northumberland shopping centre, while vital council services are being axed.

£78m

It is an enormous amount of money to spend in the south east of the county when day to day services are being cut.

“We recently saw Haydon Bridge Fire Station close and libraries are being moved because the council doesn’t have enough money to keep them going.

I initially thought the same Moe, but on this evenings BBC Look North it was said that money does not come from the 'day to day' budget. The money is borrowed from central government, but I can't find anything on line to confirm, or disprove that.

[Bedlingtonian]

Can anyone clarify who benefits from Arch. Councillors? Private enterprise? or perhaps the public? Do our Councillors get paid?, what happens to profits etc?

[moe19]

In the Evening Chronicle article it says,   Coun Daley claims they were given less than an hour to consider the plans before being asked to make a decision.

He said: “As custodians of the public purse, being asked to support £78m without proper pre-scrutiny and detailed business planning information is shocking.”

 

In the worst case scenario that the borrower ever becomes insolvent and defaults on the loan , how can councils be protected, especially in the time of Brexit when property could become  worth much less than what it was bought for

[Malcolm Robinson]

Look for the small print on this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mercuryg]

"especially in the time of Brexit when property could become  worth much less than what it was bought for"

What? How dare you suggest Brexit may have a negative effect on ANYTHING! It won't; everything will be hunky dory, Britain will be Great again and become the world's leading economy, and the rest of Europe will come begging on it's knees to be our friend again! Ask 3G.

[Malcolm Robinson]

Trying to follow the breadcrumbs aint easy on this one...........

 

5 March 1999

Ashcroft Charterhouse will buy the Manor Walks retail centre in Cramlington, Northumberland, from O&H Properties for close to £37m.

 

The Funds were launched in 1998 and 2000 respectively. Over the last five years HSBC Property Fund Management and its specialist property manager Ashcroft Estates have carefully assembled portfolios with added value potential and the funds now own 11 town centre shopping centres in England and Wales. These comprise:

• Manor Walk Shopping Centre, Cramlington, near Newcastle

• The Kingsland Shopping Centre, Dalston, London

• The Quadrant Centre, Dunstable

• The Orchards Centre, Haywards Heath

• The Swan Centre, Kidderminster

• The Aberfan Shopping Centre, Port Talbot

• Rhiw Shopping Centre, Bridgend

• North Point Shopping Centre, Hull

• Union Square Shopping Centre, Torquay

• Yate Shopping Centre, Yate

• Quedam Shopping Centre, Yeovil

Between them the shopping centres contain over 175,000 square metres (1.9 million square feet) of net lettable area, 95% of which is retail, and range in size from 8,825 square metres (95,000 square feet) to 27,870 square metres (300,000 square feet). There are over 700 tenants, 75% of whom are national covenants, paying rents totaling £24 million a year and service charges of £6 million a year. The main retailers are Boots, Marks & Spencer, WH Smith, Next, Dixons, Sainsburys and Tesco.

Commenting on the purchase, Matt Horgan, a Director at CIT, said: "We are very excited about this opportunity. With broad diversification by geography and tenant, low starting rents and low vacancy levels, we believe the portfolio is defensive in nature, yet has the potential to deliver superior returns. The centres are dominant in their locations with little or no competition, and the low starting rents provide a strong base for further growth. Furthermore, we believe we can capitalise on and progress the significant development and asset management opportunities created by the former owners."

 

Christopher Huxtable, a Director of HSBC Property Fund Management and the CSCF I & II Fund Manger commented: "The sale of the Funds has enabled us to crystalise returns for our investors significantly above the target range set when the Funds were launched. We are grateful for our investors' support and look forward to working with them in future ventures. We remain committed to the shopping centre sector and intend to launch a third fund later this year."

Senior financing for the acquisition was provided by Deutsche Bank AG.

DTZ acted on behalf of CIT on the transaction, and DTZ's shopping centre team has been retained as property managers for the entire portfolio.

 

Hammerson bought the Manor Walks Shopping Centre and the neighbouring Westmorland Retail Park in 2006.

 

Hammerson plc has exchanged contracts to acquire a portfolio of retail warehouses valued at £425 million through the purchase of LxB Holdings Limited, a property company specialising in out-of-town retail property. Each of the properties has an open A1 planning consent.

Hammerson will purchase the shares in LxB Holdings Limited and repay shareholder loans to the company for a total of £199 million. Of this amount, £26 million will be satisfied by the issue of loan notes to one of the vendors and the balance from the group’s existing resources.

The portfolio provides a combined floorspace of 1.25 million ft² (116,000 m²) and currently generates rents of £16.1 million per annum, an average of £13.90 per ft². The current ERV of the portfolio is £19.4 million equivalent to £16.50 per ft². This compares favourably with the average ERV of £23.70 per ft² for comparable UK retail park floorspace. In addition, there are excellent opportunities to extend and redevelop the schemes to increase the floorspace and enhance rental values. Hammerson anticipates that these developments could involve further expenditure totalling £200 million over the next five years.

The portfolio comprises the following properties:            

Manor Walks, Cramlington, Newcastle;

Abbey Retail Park, Newtownabbey, Belfast;

The Orchard Centre, Didcot;

Seacourt Retail Park, Oxford;

a 50% interest in Parc Tawe Phase 1, Swansea.

The vendors are Bank of Scotland Corporate, West Coast Capital (Retail Parks) Limited, BG Holding EHF and a group of management shareholders.

 

John Richards, Chief Executive of Hammerson plc, said:

 

“This acquisition substantially increases Hammerson’s critical mass in the retail parks sector and extends the group’s development pipeline for retail warehousing. The parks in this portfolio all benefit from open A1 consents and provide a platform for good rental growth. Retailer demand for well configured retail park space remains strong and we believe such schemes will continue to outperform.