Nuveen Real Estate's sale to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board of an additional 33.3% stake in the Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham was a bellwether for the UK's retail market, though it had some stiff competition before winning CoStar's Impact Award for West Midlands' sale/acquistion of the year.
CBRE advised CPPIB on a transaction that saw it up its ownership to 50%. Savills advised Nuveen. UK retail REIT Hammerson, which owns the remaining 50%, continues to undertake all asset management activities at Bullring.
About the project: The Bullring is one of the UK's best-known super-regional shopping centres and the sale represented a rare chance to take a major stake in an asset that is vital to its surrounding city and regional economy. It comprises over 1,300,000 square feet of retail and leisure in the heart of the city centre.
Launching in November 2021, it was important for the selling agent not only to showcase the strength of tenant line-up, income profile and the asset's sustainability credentials, but also to demonstrate a depth of demand from occupiers. In particular, the anchor store once occupied by Debenhams sat vacant at the time of instruction, but has repurposing proposals for the western side of the mall.
What the judges said: The judges comprised: Andy Phillips, West Midlands Growth Company, Katie Parsons, director, RCA Regeneration, Carl Potter, managing director, Avison Young, Rachel Lister, director, Thomas Lister, Nick Oakley, head of property, Frontier Development.
RCA Regeneration's director Katie Parsons said: "This joint venture partnership is great news for the Bullring and the retail market. The commitments made in terms of future proofing and sustainability will have significant positive impacts for years to come."
Avison Young's managing director Carl Potter added: "This was close between The Bullring and 9 Colmore Row. Bullring edged it for me because it demonstrated that even with the decline in bricks and mortar retailing and the rise of online retailing it is clear that those schemes which are seen as robust are capable of being sold to good quality investors and at a price which reflects the stature of the asset."
Thomas Lister's director Rachel Lister said: "The Bullring is a nationally and internationally known retail destination; however as with other retail centres, it has not been immune from the impacts of changing retail trends, the pandemic and cost of living crisis. This is evident from the loss of Debenhams and John Lewis from nearby Grand Central. As evidenced elsewhere in the country, this is a difficult spiral of decline to break. The acquisition of this asset is shown to be underpinned by exciting new proposals for the former Debenhams unit, that capitalise on the market attributes within the city, with future proofing, sustainability and net positive carbon targets woven into the asset strategy. The acquisition is presented as being extremely forward thinking and seeking to establish the asset as a visitor destination rather than purely a retail/shopping centre."
They made it happen: James Stratton, director – investment, Savills, Mark Garmon-Jones, director – UK investment, Savills; Rhodri Davies, head of UK retail, CBRE.