Birmingham's Grand Central shopping centre sold in 335 million pound deal

Hammerson, the FTSE 100 property firm is set to acquire the new Grand Central shopping in Birmingham in a 335 million pound deal.

The property giant has already exchanged contracts with Birmingham City Council to acquire the new shopping centre, which houses retailers such as John Lewis, Monsoon and Fat Face and is cleverly situated above the 750 million pounds rejuvenated New Street Station.

In addition Hammerson, which already owns Birmingham's iconic shopping, the Bullring, is said to be in "advanced discussions" with an existing joint venture partner in regards to entering a 50:50 joint venture for the future ownership of the Grand Central.

"The acquisition of Grand Central, a highly-prized trophy asset in the UK’s second city, is fully aligned with Hammerson’s strategy of owning top-performing retail destinations in prime locations," said David Atkins, CEO of Hammerson. "By deploying our expertise from Bullring, as well as other shopping centres around the UK, Hammerson is well placed to further enhance the consumer offer in Birmingham and achieve high returns through skilful management of Grand Central."

Announcement of the impending acquisition comes a month after news surrounding the future sale broke. The shopping centre, which opened last September, was highlighted as one of the symbols of the West Midlands recovery since the economic crisis as Birmingham became the first city to be home to a John Lewis, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges outside of London.

Since opening, the shopping centre has shown strong performance, attracting an average footfall of 62,000 visitors per day during its first three months of trading. Footfall increased to up to 105,000 visitor per day during over the Christmas period, with many retailers in the shopping centre reporting trading ahead of budget since opening.