DTZ buys Edinburgh Waitrose and Kwik Fit sites

DTZ Investors has acquired sites in Edinburgh let to Waitrose and Kwik Fit from LaSalle Investment Management for above the asking price of £18m.  The branches at 145 Morningside Road and 7-13 Falcon Road were purchased on behalf of an unnamed investor. Waitrose occupies 33,347 sq ft, while Kwik Fit leases a 12,795 sq ft garage. Investment in Scottish commercial property strengthened in the third quarter, reaching £1.2bn year-to-date, according to Knight Frank. The retail sector was the most active, accounting for £446m in transactions. Euan Kelly, capital markets partner at Knight Frank in Edinburgh, said: “Supermarkets are performing well, supported by solid fundamentals and long-term average growth of 4.1% in grocery sales, and we’re seeing strong demand from investors for these types of assets. “More generally, the Scottish commercial property investment market has solidified in the last few months. While there is less stock available than we perhaps expected going into the tail end of the year, it is shaping up to be a busy first half to 2025, assuming the macro-environment remains stable and interest rates continue on their current trajectory.” Ewan Stewart, acquisitions manager at DTZ Investors, said: “The fundamentals of the long leases to tenants with strong trading performance in an affluent neighbourhood in central Edinburgh are exactly where we are looking to invest. We look forward to doing further acquisitions with similar fundamentals.”  Knight Frank acted for the purchaser; Savills acted for the vendor. Investment comparables in Edinburgh >> Image © Savills