Three retail and office buildings on Edinburgh’s George Street have been sold in a deal that defies the gloom recently associated with the retail sector.
Broadlands Properties has acquired 86, 88, and 90 to 92 George Street from a client of CBRE Investment Management.
The multi-million pound deal was brokered between property consultancy Knight Frank and niche agency CuthbertWhite. The properties were marketed for around £15m.
Hackett, Rohan, Xile, The White Company and Gant operate from the ground floor units of the properties, totalling more than 17,800 sq ft of retail space.
The cellular offices above are occupied by Kettle Collective, Grayling Capital and Praemium, among other firms.
The deal also includes two adjoining buildings, 72 and 74 Rose Street North Lane, which were marketed for redevelopment. The former is currently vacant, while the latter is partially occupied by a firm of solicitors.
Knight Frank said that interest in George Street is on the rise, with eight of the eleven leases recently made available on the prime Edinburgh thoroughfare taken up by occupiers.
Earlier this year, research from the consultancy found that, prior to the opening of St James Quarter, Edinburgh had the most productive retail space of any UK city outside of London, with a ‘sales density’ of £665 per sq ft, against a UK average of £329 per sq ft.
Euan Kelly, partner at Knight Frank, said: “There was a high level of interest in the George Street assets, despite the well-publicised challenges the retail sector has faced in recent years.
“They were originally marketed as four separate properties, but it says a lot about the buyer’s confidence in Edinburgh retail that they have decided to acquire all of them together.
“There is an argument to be made that sentiment towards bricks and mortar retail had swung too far in one direction during the heights of the pandemic, but it is beginning to come back and George Street in particular has held up better than many people would have thought.”
Stephen Kay, director of capital markets at CuthbertWhite, said: “Broadland Properties is a family run office with existing holdings on George St - the company sees long-term value in this location and is planning a comprehensive refurbishment of the asset to make it even more appealing to occupiers.
“Many of the current retail occupiers have been in occupation for in-excess of 25 years and will be assisting with the ongoing letting strategy of the soon-to-be refurbished office accommodation.”
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