Pension fund in £31m Perth mall deal

A PENSION fund has acquired a shopping centre in Perth for £31.3 million.

The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) acquired the St John's Centre from BAE Systems pension fund in a deal that represented a net initial yield of 7.9 per cent.

The 145,000sq ft shopping centre is anchored by value retailer Primark, which opened its doors in November.

The BAE fund bought the mall in 2002 for 27m from Grosvenor's Arkle Fund, which developed the centre in 1987. It contains 37 retail units let to tenants such as River Island, Top Shop, H Samuel and Monsoon.