Buyer sought for huge shopping centre

The retail space spans approximately one million square feet across distinct malls, Plaza, Olympia, Princes Mall and Princes Square, and is home to a diverse mix of retail and leisure operators, anchored by major tenants such as Primark, JD Sports, and Odeon Luxe, noted Savills.

The property agent added: “The development also offers 1,700 parking spaces across the ownership.”

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Savills declared that “over the past two years, Scoop (asset managers to Interpath) has stabilised the asset and has worked closely with South Lanarkshire Council”.

It added: “The council has approved a £62.2 million, 10-year masterplan that will radically transform the shopping and leisure destination into a vibrant, high-quality urban environment. A significant portion of the budget, £30 million, will be invested in transportation infrastructure improvements.

“As part of the redevelopment, the neighbouring Centre West Shopping Centre will be converted into a housing development, creating up to 400 new homes in the heart of the town. This transformation is expected to drive an annual footfall of approximately 15 million, returning to pre-pandemic levels. Progress has also been made on key leases, including agreements with a national supermarket chain and a budget hotel.”

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Alistair McAlinden, head of Interpath Advisory in Scotland and joint administrator of shopping centre owner Sapphire, said: “We are delighted to be able to bring this significant development to market. Over the past 22 months, substantial work has been undertaken by multiple stakeholders including South Lanarkshire Council to ensure that this development, as part of the 10-year masterplan, will generate transformative value for the town of East Kilbride and the local community.”

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Mark Hewett, partner at Scoop AM LLP, said: “This represents a rare opportunity to acquire a major regional scheme and site, with the ability to collaborate with the local authority on a transformative scheme and town that holds immense potential to generate substantial value for the local community.”

Mark Garmon-Jones, director of retail investment at Savills, said: “The redevelopment, guided by the masterplan endorsed earlier this year, is set to realign the town centre and its community, offering significant potential for short-term running yield improvement and long-term transformation of the asset as it is strategically repositioned.”