St Enoch shopping mall acquired in £50m deal – Daily Business

Praxis, the UK real estate investor and manager, has completed the acquisition of one of Scotland’s largest shopping centres in a deal believed to be worth £50 million.

It emerged as frontrunner for the 12-acre mall last November ahead of Strathclyde Pension Fund and Ediston Property.

St Enoch Centre comprises 830,000 sq ft of retail and leisure behind Argyle Street and has 900 car parking spaces.

It is asset-managed by CBRE’s Sovereign Centros on behalf of a banking consortium that comprises Morgan Stanley and M&G and is anchored by tenants including Boots, Hamleys and HMV.

It last changed hands in 2013. Since then, capital investment has created a new leisure quarter anchored by Vue Cinema, an extended food court alongside new tenants including Boom Battle Bar, Level X, Escape Hut, Wagamama, and Wingstop. Next recently opened a flagship store in the centre and Japanese fashion chain Uniqlo will open a 25,000 sq ft store this summer.

James Hewitt, COO of Praxis, said: “The purchase of the St Enoch Centre is our first significant balance sheet investment into the retail sector in eight years.

“We are acquiring the asset against a backdrop of an improving tenant mix, footfall growth and increasing average basket spend throughout the scheme. Praxis has waited patiently to re-enter a sector where we have a market leading track record and we are now seeking to invest at scale into a number of discrete opportunities.”

Ian Shorrock, head of retail at Praxis, added: “The scheme is a landmark asset with significant unrealised potential and we intend to make a substantial capital investment to further enhance the offer.

“We believe St Enoch’s performance will benefit from our integrated approach to managing operationally complex assets and we look forward to working closely with the c.100 tenants in the scheme.”

Praxis was advised by GCW. The vendor was advised by JLL.