NewRiver sells Northern Irish shopping centre for £58.8m
NewRiver has completed the sale of the Abbey Centre in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, in an off-market transaction for £58.8m.
The real estate investment trust said the sale price was in line with the March 2024 and March 2025 book values, and reflected a net initial yield of 9%.
Situated six miles north of Belfast city centre, the Abbey Centre spans 320,000 sq ft and is home to over 70 shops alongside a food court and a doctors’ surgery.
NewRiver had owned the scheme since 2014, and oversaw a number of asset management initiatives during its ownership. These included the creation of a new 44,000 sq ft flagship store for Next, the re-anchoring of the former BHS unit to accommodate Primark, and the upsizing of River Island, Poundland, The Works, and Superdrug.
Under NewRiver’s ownership, the Abbey Centre also underwent a refurbishment programme which saw changes to the entrance and car park and an updated food court.
The sale comes after the recent acquisition of the nearby Shore Road Retail Park by a local investor for £5.4m.
NewRiver said it expects to reinvest the capital from the sale into opportunities with superior income and capital growth potential. In the meantime, the proceeds will be used to reduce NewRiver’s loan-to-value rate by around 4%.
Allan Lockhart, chief executive of NewRiver, said: “This off market sale of Newtownabbey is a great example of our specialist platform capabilities, from our disciplined stock selection to transforming the asset into one of the most successful shopping centres in the region and then securing a successful exit at book value.
“Capital recycling is one of our growth drivers and we believe the success of our asset management initiatives has extracted the maximum value from this asset. We remain on track with other disposals and so whilst this sale brings our LTV to below our guidance, in due course we expect to recycle our capital into opportunities with superior income and capital growth potential. This sale also demonstrates the continuing improvement in investor demand for UK shopping centres.”