Frasers targets “full ownership” of Princesshay shopping centre in Exeter – report

Frasers Group wants to buy all of the Princesshay shopping centre in Exeter, not just the half it had been believed to be chasing.

The highly acquisitive group is in talks with both the UK property giant Crown Estate and US-based asset manager Niven to buy their respective 50/50 joint venture stakes in the mall, reported property industry website Green Street News.

If both sets of talks progress to deals it’s expected that Frasers will end up spending about £80 million to buy Princesshay.

The Times had reported last month on Frasers’ pursuit of the Niven stake and said Thursday that a spokesman for the Crown Estate declined to comment to it on “market rumour and speculation”. A spokeswoman for Frasers didn’t respond to a request for comment either.

The Princesshay Estate spans 630,000 sq ft and includes the Princesshay shopping centre, other retail and leisure properties and two car parks.

The shopping centre features more than 60 brands including Next, Zara, Levi’s, Oliver Bonas and Apple, with annual rental income set at around £9.1 million a year.

Frasers has been an increasingly active retail park and mall buyer over the past few years. Last year alone, it bought The Mall shopping centre in Luton from Capital & Regional for £58 million, the Overgate Centre in Dundee for £30 million and the Junction 32 outlet shopping centre near Castleford, West Yorkshire, for £50 million.

However, Frasers’ rumoured interest in buying the massive Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield ended when it was sold for £360 million to Norway’s oil fund.

There’s a lot of deal activity going on around retail property at present. Earlier this week, LandSec upped its stake in the Bluewater, Kent shopping centre by another 17.5% for £120 million. The deal valued the shopping centre at about £686 million, a third of its value a decade ago but around the same as in December 2021 when Landsec last increased its ownership level.