Joint venture acquires St Albans retail block
A joint venture between Peterborough Capital and George Capital has acquired a freehold retail estate in St Albans from Legal & General.
Christopher Place comprises 30 retail units over approximately 88,000 sq ft of space on a 1.6 acre site, alongside a dedicated car park.
Under the terms of the joint venture, George Capital will lead the asset management of Christopher Place. Together, the partners are planning to implement a series of initiatives to enhance the estate, including selective capital investment and activation of new leasing opportunities. The groups said that multiple prospective occupiers have already expressed interest, building on the momentum created by recent arrivals such as Cosy Club and Pho.
Legal & General had only recently taken ownership of Christopher Place as part of its merger with Federated Hermes.
Fritz Stoessel, managing partner at Peterborough Capital, said: “We strongly believe in the long-term income sustainability of Christopher Place, supported by its high-quality diversified tenant base and prime location. The scheme has demonstrated occupational resilience through a period of significant headwinds for bricks-and-mortar retail, and it is now well positioned to benefit from our targeted initiatives to unlock future growth. Having underwritten numerous comparable opportunities across the UK over the last year, we view Christopher Place as an excellent first UK acquisition for PBC’s relative-value focused fund.”
Ben Young, founding partner at George Capital, added: “Christopher Place offers an exciting opportunity within a supply constrained and affluent market. The combination of well configured units let off rebased rents provides strong potential for growth. Our aim is to create a prime destination for affordable luxury shopping and a vibrant dining experience that should attract a wide audience from an extensive regional catchment.”
Clay Street and Orme Property advised the purchasers on the acquisition, KLM Real Estate was mandated on the sale.