Institutional landlord Landsec snaps up majority stake in Liverpool One shopping centre

The landlord struck the deal with former majority owners of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Grosvenor, who jointly agreed to sell a 92% stake in the destination shopping centre to Landsec.

Landsec said the expected return on investment for the shopping centre is expected to be around 7.5%, and that Liverpool One’s current rental income is 4% below estimated returns. The institutional landlord said that it expected rental returns to grow “substantially” in the coming years. 

Opened in 2008, Liverpool One currently receives over 22 million customers a year, and has 96% overall occupancy across retail, leisure and food and beverage providers. 

Landsec chief executive Mark Allan said: “The top 1% of the UK’s shopping destinations provide brands with access to 30% of all in-store retail spend, which is why we continue to see brands focus on fewer, but bigger and better stores in the best locations.

“As such, I am delighted that we have added another top-ten centre with a highly attractive return profile – meaning our unique portfolio now includes seven of the top 30 centres in the UK. Liverpool One already has a great line-up of brands in a thriving location, and we look forward to building on this with our leading operating platform to further add to its exciting growth story.”

Grosvenor Property UK chief executive James Raynor added: “Liverpool One is a phenomenal destination and we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished with and for the City over the last 25 years.

“It’s not only one of the most remarkable regeneration stories, re-defining what long-term investment and partnership can achieve, it continues to be one of the UK’s most successful retail and leisure destinations. And, under the unified ownership and management of Landsec, we know it will continue to thrive.

“Looking ahead, we have ambitious plans to grow and diversify the business and we will reinvest the proceeds from the sale in our core portfolio including our 10-year programme of investment in London and residential debt business, which has supported the delivery of 3,370 homes in just two years.”