1m sq ft Scottish shopping centre put up for sale
The freehold interest in EK, the 1m sq ft primary shopping centre in East Kilbride and South Lanarkshire, which has been in administration for almost two years, has finally been put up for sale.
Interpath Advisory, which has been managing the administration since owning companies Sapphire 15 and Sapphire 16 folded in November 2022, has appointed Savills to sell the mall.
The shopping centre is made up of four distinct malls: Plaza, Olympia, Princes Mall and Princes Square, and is home to a diverse mix of retail and leisure operators, anchored by tenants including Primark, JD Sports and Odeon Luxe. The scheme also has 1,700 parking spaces.
The freehold interest in EK, the 1m sq ft primary shopping centre in East Kilbride and South Lanarkshire, which has been in administration for almost two years, has finally been put up for sale.
Interpath Advisory, which has been managing the administration since owning companies Sapphire 15 and Sapphire 16 folded in November 2022, has appointed Savills to sell the mall.
The shopping centre is made up of four distinct malls: Plaza, Olympia, Princes Mall and Princes Square, and is home to a diverse mix of retail and leisure operators, anchored by tenants including Primark, JD Sports and Odeon Luxe. The scheme also has 1,700 parking spaces.
Since entering administration, Scoop AM has been asset managing the scheme and has worked closely with South Lanarkshire Council on working up a major new masterplan for the site.
In May, the council approved the £62.2m, 10-year masterplan for EK, which will see the shopping and leisure destination transformed into a mixed-use scheme comprising 400 homes, a new civic hub, a supermarket and a hotel. Retail will still form a major part of the development, but retail floorspace will be reduced dramatically.
Some £30m of the budget for the new development is to be invested in transportation infrastructure improvements.
The redevelopment is expected to drive an annual footfall of around 15m, returning trade to pre-pandemic levels.
Mark Hewett, partner at Scoop AM, 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.”
Alistair McAlinden, head of Interpath Advisory in Scotland and joint administrator of EK owner Sapphire, said substantial work had been undertaken by multiple stakeholders including to ensure the site and its redevelopment will generate “transformative value” for the local area.
Mark Garmon-Jones, director of retail investment at selling agent Savills, added: “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.”
At the height of the market, in 2007, EK was sold by Landsec to PropInvest for more than £386m. it was bought by Sapphire in 2014 for £180m from Delancey.
