Waitrose supermarket in ‘affluent’ Edinburgh suburb sold as part of £18 million deal

“Both Waitrose and Kwik Fit trade exceptionally well from their Morningside locations, with little in the way of nearby competition” – Euan Kelly

Two Edinburgh buildings housing a Waitrose supermarket and a branch of tyre fitter Kwik Fit have been sold in a bumper property deal exceeding £18 million.

Located at 145 Morningside Road and 7-13 Falcon Road, the branches of Waitrose and Kwik Fit are among both brands’ strongest trading locations. Upmarket grocery store Waitrose occupies 33,347 square feet of retail space, while Kwik Fit leases the adjoining 12,795 sq ft garage.

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Property adviser Knight Frank acted for the purchaser, a client of DTZ Investors, while the seller was a client of LaSalle, represented by Savills.

The building housing the busy Waitrose branch in Morningside, Edinburgh, has changed hands.The building housing the busy Waitrose branch in Morningside, Edinburgh, has changed hands.
The building housing the busy Waitrose branch in Morningside, Edinburgh, has changed hands.

Knight Frank recently said that investment in Scottish commercial property firmed up in the third quarter, reaching just over £1.2 billion for the year to date, as political stability following the general election and a first cut to interest rates created a more stable backdrop. While the figure was marginally down on the £1.26bn recorded during the same period a year earlier, it marked a significant improvement on the 19 per cent year-on-year gap seen during the first half of 2024. Retail was the most active sector, with some £446 million of deals.

Euan Kelly, capital markets partner at Knight Frank Edinburgh, said: “Both Waitrose and Kwik Fit trade exceptionally well from their Morningside locations, with little in the way of nearby competition and an affluent local population. Broadly speaking, supermarkets are performing well, supported by solid fundamentals and long-term average growth of 4.1 per cent 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.”

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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.”

In August, it emerged that Scotland was in line for more Waitrose stores after the John Lewis-owned supermarket business outlined record £1bn expansion plans. The employee-backed business is looking to open up to 100 convenience shops over the next five years as part of a bumper investment in its chain of supermarkets. The new outlets across England, Scotland and Wales will be the first openings in six years for the upmarket grocery group.

The recent Knight Frank research revealed that investment in hotels rose to a five-year high for the first three quarters, reaching £298m. It was the only time in the last five years that the sector was the second most active asset type, with only the retail sector ahead at some £446m.

In a further departure from recent years, overseas investors’ share of investment volumes nearly halved to 24.5 per cent, down from 46 per cent a year ago. Private investors were the most active buyers, accounting for 32.1 per cent of overall investment, while real estate investment trusts (REITs) and listed property companies represented 27.6 per cent.

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