Axis Retail Partners, an advisory boutique specialising in European retail investments, has acquired St George’s Shopping Centre in Harrow for £20.5 million after securing a loan from OakNorth, the UK bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs.
The shopping centre located on Harrow’s high-street totals 215,000 sq ft, including 32 retail units and 669 parking spaces, and has an annual footfall of circa nine million customers.
It was refurbished in 2015 and focuses on offering shoppers convenience and value retail, with occupiers including: TK Maxx, Boots, Wilkos, H&M, Nandos and Pizza Express, situated alongside a 12-screen Vue cinema.
Toby Smith, CIO of Axis Retail Partners, commented on the transaction: “We are very pleased with having been able to execute our first UK deal. We have been active in the UK market for almost two years and believe that now is the right time to start investing as the market starts to recover from Covid-19, which continues to be the ultimate stress test to the sector.
“We are focusing on assets which are relevant retail destinations and that have a demonstrated track record of strong performance, a rebased rental level and offer an attractive income yield to our clients. Given this was our first shopping centre acquisition, we were in need of not just bank, but a trusted lending partner who we could depend on to understand our business and structure a bespoke facility around our specific needs.”
Eamonn O’Rourke, director of property finance at OakNorth Bank, added: “Given St George’s occupancy is currently full and is home to some of the biggest brands in the UK, we have no doubt this will be the first of many successful acquisitions for Axis and we look forward to watching their growth story going forward.”
