British Land swoops for £240m centre

British Land, the second-biggest commercial landlord by market value, has bought a major shopping centre in Plymouth for £240 million to add to its growing retail portfolio.

The group, whose other assets include Edinburgh's Fort Kinnaird complex, said the 425,000sq ft Drake Circus shopping centre was bought at a net initial yield of 6 per cent, with the potential for income growth. Property investors have been showing new interest in shopping centres, which they expect have hit a bottom in capital values and rents.