Asset management agreement signed with Canterbury City Council
Canterbury City Council has appointed NewRiver for the asset management of Whitefriars shopping centre which it bought from TH Real Estate earlier this year. The agreement is the first to be signed by NewRiver since it announced in May 2018 that it would be offering its market-leading asset management platform to manage third-party assets.
Whitefriars Shopping Centre is the dominant regional shopping centre for East Kent with a catchment of 270,000 people within a 30-minute drive and annual footfall of 13 million. It has 75 units across 474,000 sq ft and 530 car parking spaces, and is anchored by Fenwicks, Marks & Spencer, Next and Primark.
Under the terms of the deal, NewRiver will undertake full asset management responsibilities for the shopping centre in exchange for a management fee calculated as a proportion of net operational income received and a development fee calculated on third-party-tendered development costs. The agreement will initially be for two years, with the option of a roll on for a further two years.
Chief executive Allan Lockhart said: ” NewRiver’s selection by the council in a competitive tender process demonstrates that our strong relationships with retailers and track record of successful asset management makes us the clear choice for third-party retail asset owners. Against a growing trend of local authorities purchasing shopping centre assets and taking control of their town centres, NewRiver is ideally positioned to provide best-in-class asset management expertise to them, delivering thriving assets for local communities and sustainable, long-term revenue for our shareholders.”
