Sunderland Shopping Centre The Bridges
Sunderland’s prime shopping centre The Bridges shopping centre has been snapped up by new owners in an undisclosed deal. The city centre retail and leisure has been sold to rapidly rising property group Evolve Estates, which has already snapped up a number of shopping sites across the region and beyond.
The Bridges Shopping Centre
Business Live is reporting that the value of the deal is not known but it comes 10 years after it was bought by its departing owners, clients of real estate investment managers AEW Europe, for the huge sum of £152m – the biggest retail property deal the region has seen for decades – at a time when it was anchored by now defunct department store chain Debenhams and Top Shop.
New owners Evolve Estates are already hinting at making significant investment at the large 595,000sqft property, saying that the centre is “performing satisfactorily” but could fare better with new tenants and the introduction of new leisure features.
Joe O’Keefe, co-founder at the London property investment group, said: “The acquisition of The Bridges Shopping Centre reflects our commitment to investing in retail assets that have a high-potential to unlock through investment, experience and hard work.
“The Bridges is a great example of an asset that is performing satisfactorily as it stands, but could really improve and transition into new retail and leisure areas, occupiers and operations. We have had dialogue with the local authority who are promisingly pragmatic and we are very much looking forward to working with stakeholders to really move The Bridges forward.”
The shopping centre dominates the city centre with around 100 units leased to big high street names including Primark, Next, Boots and TK Maxx, as well as a 938-space car park.
Evolve Estates, which was launched in 2009 and is part of M Core, says that it has seen a successful start to 2024 and that, despite market fluctuaitons, is continuing on the acquisition trail, adding shopping parades, centres and retail parks across the country to its portfolio.
The deal marks M Core’s fourth deal in the North East, coming seven months after the business swooped for Billingham town centre in an undisclosed deal, and a year after M Core snapped up Meynell Road Retail Park in Darlington, and the Viking Centre in Jarrow, South Tyneside.
The company also owns The Galleries in Washington, having acquired the site in 2022.
Legal representation for the purchaser, Evolve, part of M Core, was provided by Andrew Cooper at Clarke Wilmott, and the vendor was supported by Carey Olsen. JLL acted as the agent for vendor and Cited and Montagu Evans for the purchaser.