EDINBURGH’S The Gyle Shopping Centre has been acquired for £40m by real estate investment company Capital & Regional.
The Gyle comprises of 88 retail units across a 50-acre space, and is also anchored by a Marks & Spencer store and Morrisons supermarket.
The centre is served by the tram system which links the nearby airport to Edinburgh City centre, providing further access for potential customers.
The acquisition is financed through existing funds, a new debt facility of £16m and approximately £25m of gross proceeds to be received pursuant to a fully underwritten Open Offer.
Lawrence Hutchings, Chief Executive Officer at Capital & Regional, said: “The strong operational results and continued valuation stabilisation we are reporting today give us considerable confidence in our own portfolio, platform and UK Community centres strategy, as well as the physical retail market where many of the structural changes are maturing.
“This confidence is also reflected in our announcement this morning of the acquisition of The Gyle Shopping Centre in Edinburgh.
“[It] marks the first step towards rescaling our business and fully leveraging our proven skills and management expertise.
“This acquisition allows us to capitalise on an opportunity to add an established dual supermarket anchored community centre in Scotland’s capital city to our portfolio.
“The centre will be accretive to income from day one, with the agreed price representing a significant discount to the replacement cost and providing us with a highly attractive entry point from which we can create value.
“That will be part-funded by a £25m equity raise available to all existing shareholders and fully underwritten by our majority shareholder, Growthpoint.
“In addition, we have arranged terms with Morgan Stanley to staple debt to the acquisition at a 40% LTV capped at a cost of 6.5% fixed for 5 years.
“We have also identified a number of asset management opportunities to create value.
“[This includes] refining the tenant mix, a renewed focus on leasing to improve occupancy and income, whilst enhancing the centre’s appeal to the growing and affluent catchment.”
In 2022 the shopping centre had a footfall of 8.6 million.
