A popular shopping destination that is frequented by footballers and other stars has now been sold as part of a deal worth well over half a billion pounds.
Cheshire Oaks, a designer outlet in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, has been bought for £600m by an investment management firm as part of a deal that included another designer outlet in Swindon, West of London. The two sites were purchased from Nuveen Real Estate by LaSalle Investment Management, a subsidary of global property giant JLL, though they will continue to be ran by McArthurGlen, the continent's largest manager of premium designer outlets.
Cheshire Oaks, which could be described as a retail park for people with a lot of expendable income, is the largest designer outlet in the UK, and boasts as many designer stores as are imaginable, including Polo Ralph Lauren and Burberry. Over 160 individual are based in the space.
READ MORE: Ikea, Aldi and Waitrose named in top 10 places to work in Merseyside and Wales
The assets will continue to be managed by McArthurGlen, Europe's largest manager of premium designer outlets, Business Live reports.
Most of the portfolio value is comprised of Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, the largest designer outlet in the UK.
Cheshire Oaks is spread across 400,000 sqft and includes more than 160 individual units, with Burberry, Polo Ralph Lauren and Nike amongst its key occupiers.
LaSalle said it intends to invest in both sites to expand event areas and car parking, enhance customer experience and improve its environmental credentials.
Blake Loveless, head of value-add investments at LaSalle, said: "We're thrilled to be working with McArthurGlen on this exciting venture. These are two of Europe's premier outlets and are well-placed within our value-add strategy, which targets attractive risk-adjusted equity returns for real estate investments across Europe."
Michael Zerda, head of debt and value-add strategies at LaSalle, added: "This transaction represents the first large-scale acquisition made by LaSalle's reconstituted value-add investments business line in Europe.
"We look forward to unlocking the full potential of this portfolio in the years to come for the benefit of our investors."
John Ralston, McArthurGlen's regional director, UK & Canada, said: "Having originally developed and managed the successful McArthurGlen Designer Outlets at Cheshire Oaks and Swindon since their openings in 1995 and 1997 respectively, we are delighted to be working with LaSalle on its new investment.
"This demonstrates our continued confidence in both Centres and in the outlet sector across Europe."
