Investors see high return in UK shopping centers

UK shopping centres are high on the list for international retail investors, according to property agent Savills.

An estimated 6.8 billion pounds worth of shopping centres were bought during 2014, up 43 percent year-on-year the report claims.

Central London saw 2.5 billion pounds store investment in 2014

Furthermore, a record 2.5 billion pounds was spent on central London stores, thanks to demand from overseas investors. In addition, 24 new retailers opened stores in central London last year, including American Eagle, Lululemon and Stradivarius.

The interest from international brands is expected to drive rents on Oxford Street over 1,000 pounds per square feet for the first time during the course of the coming year, benefit from the opening of the Crossrail train network, claimed Savills.

The current record rent is the 928 pounds per square feet for Zone A space agreed by The Toy Store earlier last year.

Anthony Selwyn, head of central London retail at Savills, told The Times that, in addition to Crossrail, interest in the area is being boosted by new investments and expansion plans from the leading department stores such as Selfridges and John Lewis.

He said: “All credit to the influence of these key department stores who, through active asset management, have continued to boost the attraction of this area and subsequently drawn in new and existing brands to the area.”

The investment into shopping centres was driven by domestic and international buyers. During the year, FTSE 100 property company Land Securities bought a 30 percent stake in Bluewater for 656 million pounds while the Crown Estate snapped up Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester for 346 million pounds with backing from a Chinese fund.

Nick Hart, director of shopping centre investment at Savills, said: “One of the defining reasons why we believe the market will continue to surge forward in the short to medium term is because we are in unprecedented times from an investor appetite perspective.