British Land acquires Tesco’s holding in Surrey Quays

Real estate investment firm British Land has announced

that it has purchased its joint venture partner Tesco’s 50 percent stake in the 300,000 square foot Surrey Quays Shopping Centre for 48 million pounds.

The acquisition means that British Land now owns 100 percent of the South East London centre, which will allow the real estate firm to accelerate its plans to invest in the development.

In the announcement, British Land outlined plans for a 38 million pound upgrade of the shopping centre, which will include a 100,000 square foot extension, refurbishment of the existing centre, as well as improvements to the public spaces and connections to Surrey Quays and Canada Water tube and bus stations.

Surrey Quays is anchored by an 115,000 square foot Tesco Extra and, as part of the deal, the supermarket chain has committed to a new long-term lease on its store and petrol station, increasing the centre’s weighted average lease length to 9.4 years.

Commenting on the acquisition, Charles Maudsley, head of retail at British Land, said: “We intend to create a modern retail environment to attract the growing, affluent local catchment.

“We are aiming to take the scheme beyond its current functional shop by broadening the tenant mix and introducing larger retail units alongside a more attractive food offer. All this should increase overall spend.”