Knight Frank: Record number of UK supermarkets sold in 2023
A record number of UK supermarkets changed hands in 2023, with almost £2.5bn worth being bought and sold.
According to data from Knight Frank, £2.49bn was spent on supermarket acquisitions during the year, over three times the amount spent in 2022 and 71% above the 10-year average of £1.4bn.
Prominent deals over the year include sale-and-leaseback deals for Asda and Morrisons, with the former raising £650m during the summer in a sale to American investor Realty Income.
Asda was also reportedly considering an offer worth £500m from an Australian investor for 50 stores in August.
The retailer’s £2.28bn takeover of EG Group was reportedly funded by a number of asset sales.
Knight Frank retail chartered surveyor Josh Roberts said: “While commercial property volumes look set to decline by around 50% overall in 2023, retail property investment has been resilient, buoyed by a record year for food stores.
“This is driven by a flight to safety, with supermarkets offering some of the strongest covenants available on long, inflation-linked leases and a significant increase in sale-and-leaseback transactions.”