NewRiver acquires asset and development management firm

NewRiver has announced the acquisition of Ellandi Management Limited (‘Ellandi’), an asset and development management business focused on UK retail and regeneration.

Co-founders and owners of Ellandi, Morgan Garfield and Mark Robinson, will join NewRiver as Head of Capital Partnerships and Head of Regeneration, respectively.

The acquisition strengthens NewRiver’s existing Capital Partnership business and is consistent with their strategy to deliver earnings growth in a capital-light way through utilising Ellandi’s experience in managing destination shopping centers and regeneration projects.

Ellandi brings a portfolio of 16 shopping centre asset management mandates, covering over 6.3m sq ft, with 10 different partners. Ellandi also brings extensive experience working with public sector owners to deliver regeneration, with current projects including the regeneration of Blackpool Town Centre and Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle.

Ellandi’s portfolio also includes Highcross, The Broadway and Merry Hill

The combined Capital Partnership business will have significantly increased scale, with Assets Under Management (“AUM”) of £1.5bn across a portfolio of 21 shopping centres and 18 retail parks, with 13 different partners. Including NewRiver’s wholly owned portfolio of retail assets, this increases to total AUM of £2.0bn across a portfolio of 44 shopping centres and 29 retail parks and an existing fee income stream of £8.2m. 

During the year ended 30 April 2024, Ellandi’s fee income was £5.7m and EBITDA was £1.1m. The acquisition has been made for an initial cash consideration of £5m, with additional cash consideration of up to £4m subject to EBITDA performance.