Realty agrees £200m deal to acquire 11 UK retail parks

American real estate group Realty is in has reached a deal with Ediston Property Investment Company to purchase its entire property estate for £200.8m.

Ediston confirmed it had reached an agreement with RI UK 1 Limited, a subsidiary of Realty, over the sale of its 11 site-strong retail park estate.

Eidston currently invest in retail parks in Stirling, Haddington, Sunderland, Widnes, Barnsley, Prestatyn, Hull, Wrexham, Glasgow, Daventry, and Rhyl.  The group said its portfolio has a value of £208.4m with a contracted rental income of £16.5m.

William Hill, chairman of Ediston, said: “The board was very pleased with the interest shown in the company, with proposals being received from a number of potential counterparties. Having considered multiple options, and after detailed analysis, the board determined a sale of the property portfolio to Realty Income was the best means of maximising shareholder value.

“The board unanimously considers the disposal to be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders as a whole and recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the resolution at the general meeting.”

The group’s general meeting will be held on 26 September.

If the acquisition is accepted unconditionally, Ediston’s board will look to seek shareholder approval to voluntarily liquidate the company and distribute all of its assets – which would consist entirely of cash – to shareholders.

It was recently reported that Florida-based Realty is eyeing the purchase of Inverness Shopping Park, the Kingston Centre in Milton Keynes, and Serpentine Green in Peterborough from British Land.

Also included in the deal is a portfolio of six data centres and offices based in London, which are currently leased to Vodafone.

The New York-listed company entered the UK property market in 2019 when it formed a joint partnership with British Land to take ownership of 12 Sainsbury’s supermarkets, in a deal worth £429m.

It now has a British portfolio worth over £2bn, having invested in a number of supermarkets, DIY stores, and retail parks.

Realty previously told its investors that it sees the UK as an attractive investment hotspot.