Canadian Bullring buy slashes valuation

Canada’s biggest pension fund has agreed to buy a 33% stake in the Bullring in a deal that values the Birmingham shopping centre at almost half what it was valued at less than a decade ago. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is buying the stake from Nuveen Real Estate for about £170m. Contracts are close to being exchanged. CPP acquired its present 16.7% stake from Australia’s Future Fund in 2013. That deal valued the Bullring at about £921m. However, the latest transaction, which will lift CPPIB’s ownership in the mall to 50%, values the retail venue at £510m. The Bullring was built in 2003 by a consortium of investors including Hammerson, Nuveen and Land Securities, which sold its one-third share to the Future Fund for £210m in 2009. Hammerson still owns 50% of the mall. The sale price will be a blow to Hammerson, as the implied valuation is less than the £561m estimate in its most recent accounts. At the end of 2020, Hammerson had valued the site at £628m. The Times (£) Photo by High Level/Shutterstock