Evolve Estates has bought the 595,000-square-foot The Bridges Shopping Centre in Sunderland.
The shopping centre comprises 100 units and is anchored by Primark, Next and TK Maxx, as well as a 938-space car park.
Established in 2009, Evolve Estates has been one of the most active buyers of UK retail and mixed-use investments in recent years.
The price paid for the mall has not been disclosed but is thought to be around £38 million.
Joe O’Keefe, co-founder at Evolve Estates, said in a statement: "The acquisition of The Bridges Shopping Centre reflects our commitment to investing in retail assets that have a high-potential to unlock through investment, experience and hard work.
“The Bridges is a great example of an asset that is performing satisfactorily as it stands, but could really improve and transition into new retail and leisure areas, occupiers and operations. We have had dialogue with the Local Authority who are promisingly pragmatic and we are very much looking forward to working with stakeholders to really move The Bridges forward.”
Legal representation for the purchaser, Evolve, part of M Core, was provided by Andrew Cooper at Clarke Wilmott, whilst the vendor was supported by Carey Olsen. JLL acted as the agent for vendor and Cited and Montagu Evans for the purchaser.
Landsec sold the mall to clients of AEW Europe for £152 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.9%.
The sale comes as shopping centre investment activity picks up strongly in the UK.
CoStar News reported last week that three major shopping centre transactions totalling more than £400 million are progressing as improved demand and limited stock drive a rebounding investment market.
Among these CoStar News revealed that the Strathclyde Pension Fund and Ediston Property have entered talks to buy the St Enoch Centre in Glasgow.