Intu mulls Northern Ireland retail park sale

Intu is considering selling its Sprucefield retail park in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. Market sources have estimated that the price tag could be around £45m. If a deal proceeds at this pricing level, it would mark a 35.5% drop from its £69.8m purchase of the retail park from Westfield, which formed part of a package deal in 2014. Intu reduced its loan on Sprucefield in 2018 as its loan-to-value covenants tightened. The loan-to-market-value ratio on the asset was 57% at 31 December. The debt associated with the asset expires in 2020. The news comes as intu outlined measures to reduce its LTV to below 50%, which include a significant push on making further disposals. It made £171m of disposals in the year to 31 December. David Fischel, chief executive of intu, declined to comment on any pending processes relating to individual assets, but told EG: “Sprucefield was an asset we picked up through another acquisition, when we picked up Merry Hill, as part of a package. “It is a somewhat anomalous asset for us because all the others are big shopping centres, and where we have retail parks they are attached to big shopping centres. Sprucefield is a standalone retail park with a lot of development potential. [So it is] very different to our assets.” Expansion plans Intu had last year outlined plans to invest £50m in expanding the retail park, currently let to occupiers including Sainsbury’s and Next Home. A spokesman for intu said: “We are pushing ahead with our plans to transform Sprucefield Park into an exciting retail destination. Our focus now is getting these plans approved so we can get on and deliver this major investment in Lisburn and the wider area.” Proposals featured 13 new shops, five food and beverage outlets and a hotel comprising more than 80 bedrooms, as well as public spaces and a community events area. The site had been expected for several years to gain department store John Lewis as an anchor tenant, but intu’s proposals did not appear to include the retailer. Political wrangling The retail park has also been at the heart of legal and political wrangling for more than a decade, in relation to John Lewis’s engagement with Northern Ireland. In 2016, a court ruling effectively lifted “bulky goods” restrictions on future expansion at the retail park under the contentious Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan, clearing the way for John Lewis’s potential debut. However, John Lewis afterwards told various media outlets that it did not plan to open a shop in the province. Plans for what would have been the first John Lewis store in Northern Ireland were first lodged in 2004, a year after the retail park opened. John Lewis launched in Ireland in 2016 through a partnership with Dublin department store Arnotts. To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette