US investor swoops on retail parks in Paisley and Livingston in £21 million deal

A US investor has snapped up two Scottish retail parks in a £21 million deal.

The buyer has not been named but Lismore Real Estate Advisors, which advised on the deal, said it marked the investor’s first acquisitions in Scotland.

Renfrew Road Retail Park in Paisley is a recently developed retail warehouse and food store totalling some 60,000 square feet. The units are let to Marks & Spencer, which runs a Simply Food outlet at the site, and general goods retailer The Range

Livingston Retail Park was developed in 2017 and comprises two retail warehousing units totalling 43,000 sq ft. The units there are let to B&M and Dunelm.

Livingston Retail Park was developed in 2017 and comprises two retail warehousing units totalling 43,000 square feet. The units there are let to B&M and Dunelm.

Lismore said that since the onset of the pandemic, both supermarket and discount retail assets have been “highly sought after” with investors attracted by the retailers’ resilient trading performances and the long leases that characterise the sectors.

Lismore advised the purchaser whilst Sheridan Property advised the seller on Livingston and acted jointly with Knight Frank on the sale of Renfrew Retail Park.

The combined acquisition price reflects a net initial yield of close to 6.1 per cent.

Earlier this month, a report by Lismore suggested that Scotland’s property investment market may be on the road to recovery, despite activity remaining below the long-term average.

The firm’s quarterly review pointed to more positive times ahead as deal activity gathers pace following the economic fallout from the pandemic.

Transaction volumes in quarter two have increased by 71 per cent since the opening three months of 2021, with some £300m traded, though activity remains some 30 per cent below the five-year average.

The firm predicts that the second half of the year will be more positive, with three “significant” transactions north of £50m understood to be in the pipeline.

The review indicates that prime logistics yields are continuing to harden at 4.5 per cent. Prime Edinburgh office yields are likely to sharpen before the year end, Lismore noted, with limited stock and strong occupational demand the key drivers.

Chris Thornton, associate at Lismore, said: “Activity in the last quarter has continued to see the wall of overseas equity targeting our best long income assets.”

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