NewRiver sells Greater Manchester shopping centre to local authority
NewRiver REIT has sold Ladysmith Shopping Centre in Aston-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester to Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council.
The 190,394 sq ft scheme is located adjacent to the town’s Grade II-listed Town Hall, and opens directly onto the recently-opened Market Square, which has undergone a £10.8m investment by Tameside Council to create new public realm and a covered market for street food, markets, and year-round events.
The shopping centre is anchored by Boots, Peacocks, and Home Bargains.
Tameside Council said the acquisition forms the latest milestone in a £1bn borough-wide regeneration that will reposition the town as one of the UK’s best connected and most investable locations. The council has secured over £250m of public investment to unlock a development pipeline that will look to deliver over 5,000 new homes and experience-led town centres designed for modern living.
NewRiver has been retained to lead the scheme’s asset management, alongside managing agents Ashdown Phillips.
Nicola Elsworth, director of strategic growth at Tameside Council, said: “Bringing Ladysmith into public ownership is a pivotal moment for Ashton. It gives us the ability to shape one of the town centre’s most important sites, delivering the homes, investment and hospitality this community deserves. Combined with the market transformation, the Town Hall restoration plans and the wider public realm improvements already underway, we are building a town centre that locals can genuinely be proud of.”
Deborah McLaughlin, chair of Ashton Mayoral Development Zone, added: “The acquisition of the Ladysmith is exactly the kind of strategic move the Ashton Mayoral Development Zone was created to support. Bringing this site into public ownership connects directly to our borough-wide growth ambitions and demonstrates how the public sector can act decisively to create the conditions for private investment. Ashton is increasingly on the radar of investors and developers, and this sends a clear signal that our vision is being realised.”
Eleanor Wills, leader of Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, said: “This acquisition is a statement of intent for Ashton and for Tameside as a whole. The residents of Ashton deserve to see meaningful change in their town centre, and this is us taking direct action to make it happen. Combined with the new market, the public realm improvements and the Town Hall restoration, we are building a town centre that the community can be proud to live and work in.”
FMX Urban Property Advisers acted for NewRiver.