Buyer revealed as £1 Fife shopping mall gets makeover

The buyer of a shopping centre in Kirkcaldy that was put up for sale with a reserve price of just £1 has been revealed – and has “ambitious” plans to develop and rebrand the outlet.

The aim is to breathe new life into the site, with new tenants sought, after the £310,000 deal. Picture: contributed.

Evergold, a Yorkshire-based property development, asset management and property maintenance company has swooped on The Postings Shopping Centre, which was put up for auction by Columbia Threadneedle and bought for £310,000. The pension fund paid £10.3 million for it in 2003, and its footfall fell dramatically after the Tesco closed in 2015.

It aims to rebrand it as the Kirkcaldy Centre, with talks under way with potential new tenants. The centre already houses the likes of Farmfoods, Lloyds Pharmacy, Stephens Bakery and Fife Council.

Tahir Ali at Evergold Property said: “With over 20 years’ experience within the commercial and residential property sector, the Evergold team has a wealth of experience in all aspects of property development. We are all about adding value to properties, communities and masterplanning sites to ensure the most productive outcomes can be achieved for the local authorities and other partners that we work alongside.

“Our aim is to reposition and revitalise this centre to the benefit of the local community. There are some attractive units here with an existing footfall averaging 15,000 people per week and we are already in advanced discussions with various operators for the large unit formerly occupied by Tesco as well as entering into discussions with prospective tenants offering goods and services that serve the local community.”

He also noted that “productive” talks have begun with Bill Harvey, business improvement district manager at Kirkcaldy4All, “about our shared interest in the promotion of Kirkcaldy town centre as a place where people want to work, shop and spend their leisure time”.

The 80,620 square foot Kirkcaldy Centre is located on a three-acre site near the town’s High Street, and houses 21 shop units and a 304-space car park. Evergold has instructed Shepherd Chartered Surveyors to offer 14 vacant shop units for lease.

Bilal Ashraf, commercial surveyor in the Dunfermline office of Shepherd Chartered Surveyors, said: “The new owner has brought a fresh new vision to this centre and we are actively seeking to secure tenants for the vacant units to help revitalise the retail offering in Kirkcaldy city centre… I am certain we can work together to make the Kirkcaldy Centre a great success.”