Landsec named as preferred bidder for £500m+ Metrocentre
The London-headquartered UK REIT has beaten Frasers Group to the punch and entered into exclusive talks to acquire the 2m sq ft shopping mall in Gateshead.
The sale, which is being overseen by Knight Frank, is thought to be in excess of £500m.
Metrocentre is the largest UK shopping destination outside London, attracting around 16m visitors last year, and is managed by CBRE through its Sovereign Centros division.
As of now, the centre is owned by the Metrocentre Partnership, a group of investors that acquired the asset following the collapse of Intu Properties in 2020, and includes institutional investors such as the Church Commissioners for England and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Real Estate.
Recently, rumours swirled that the Mike Ashley-owned Frasers Group was in line to acquire the asset.
The mall sits at the heart of 52 acres of brownfield land, set to be developed into a 4,500-home neighbourhood called Metro Riverside in a partnership between Metrocentre and Gateshead Council.
The government is currently considering the MetroGreen Area Action Plan, which proposes 990 homes around the Metrocentre by 2030 as part of the wider scheme. Supported by Mott MacDonald, Gillespies, and LDA Design, it will be delivered by Metrocentre in partnership with Gateshead Council.
Based on a ’20 minute destination’, which aims to have all residents’ needs located within a 20 minute walk, the carbon neutral district sits three miles from the Newcastle-Gateshead quayside. A ‘reimagined’ Metrocentre will sit at the heart of the neighbourhood, with retail, a hotel, workspaces, and leisure options, as well as the ability to supply renewable energy to residents.
