New store coming to Cannock retail park after site is sold for nearly £30m
A new flagship national store could be heading for Cannock after the town's Orbital Retail Park was sold for nearly £30m.
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New owners British Land are in discussions with a "top national" chain to occupy the current Homebase store, which was placed up for sale by the firm last month, after they completed the purchase of the retail park for £27.6 million from former owners Clearbell Property.
Clearbell say the sale of the site comes hot on the heels of the firm agreeing two new lettings to Tapi and Flooring Superstore, while other recent entrants to the park include leading discount supermarket, Aldi and value health club, Pure Gym. M&S Foodhall, Boots and Pets at Home.
In a statement, they added British Land are "taking forward the asset management of the scheme" and are in advanced discussions with a leading national company to open a new flagship unit in the Homebase site, one of over 70 which was listed for sale by the DIY company in November.
“Over the last four years of ownership, we have worked to continuously improve the tenant mix at Orbital. Through this active asset management strategy, we have been able to secure several strong new tenants, including anchor tenant Aldi, that has seen footfall increase consistently. We are very pleased to have been able to sell to British Land who have the experience and expertise to take the scheme forward," said Toby Saul, Asset Management Director at Clearbell.
The Orbital Retail Park spans around 123,000 square feet of retail space across 11 stores just off Orbital Drive in Cannock. New owners British Land recorded underlying profits of £143 million in half-year results released last month, up 1% from the previous year.
“This latest acquisition further solidifies our market leading position in retail parks as we continue to deliver on our strategy of recycling capital into this sub-sector," said Kelly Cleveland, Head of Real Estate and Investment at British Land.
“Retail parks remain the preferred physical retail format for an increasing number of retailers due to their affordability, adaptability and accessibility. We are nearly fully let across our parks portfolio and continue to see strong competition for this type of space.”
