Hammerson buys Grand Central shopping centre in Birmingham

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 22, 2016

Hammerson announced on Friday it reached an agreement with Birmingham City Council to acquire the new Grand Central shopping centre for £335 million. The centre, which opened in September 2015, has 435,000 square feet of retail space and is anchored by a John Lewis store.

With the Grand Central, Hammerson further extends its portfolio of shopping centres across the UK, which also includes the Bullring in Birmingham.

The developer also announced it is in advanced discussions with a partner, with whom it already has joint ventures, about selling 50% of the ownership of Grand Central.

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Located in the UK’s second largest city, the centre also sits above the busiest train station outside London. It was developed by the City Council, together with Network Rail as part of a £750 million project to regenerate the railway station New Street, and houses over 40 premium stores including Fat Face, Hobbs, The White Company,Cath Kidston, Joules, Kiehls and Jo Malone.

Since its opening, Grand Central has demonstrated a strong performance, attracting average footfall of 62,000 per day in its first three months of trading with up to 105,000 per day over the Christmas period.

David Atkins, CEO of Hammerson, said: "The acquisition of Grand Central, a highly-prized trophy asset in the UK's second city, is fully aligned with Hammerson's strategy of owning top-performing retail destinations in prime locations, as demonstrated by our recent transactions in Ireland and growing exposure to European Premium Outlets.

By deploying our expertise from Bullring, as well as other shopping centres around the UK, Hammerson is well placed to further enhance the consumer offer in Birmingham and achieve high returns through skilful management of Grand Central.”