Lone Star Funds are to market their prime shopping centre in Aberdeen, Union Square, through global real estate advisor Knight Frank, seeking a price of around £175M.
Union Square is the dominant retail provision in Aberdeen, one of Scotland’s top city-centre retail destinations. It includes a significant retail park alongside a prime enclosed retail and leisure mall. Strategically located adjacent to the city’s railway and bus stations, the centre has thrived since its development in 2009, providing a modern, fit-for-purpose, multi-faceted retail destination.
Totalling 550,000sq ft, Union Square has recently seen M&S upsize to a new flagship 100,000sq ft anchor unit on the retail park. Other recent upsizes include TK Maxx and Apple, whilst new lettings include Ikea, Mango, Schuh, Victoria’s Secret, Hobbs, The Entertainer and Wing Stop, resulting in a 22 per cent increase in net income over the last 36 months. Other retailers in the retail park include JD and Next whilst operators in the mall include Zara, H&M and Cineworld.
Charlie Barke, Head of Capital Markets at Knight Frank said: “Union Square is a huge success story and its recent lettings, substantial tenant investment, rental trajectory and strong trading platform are exactly what you want to see from a thriving retail asset with strong sustainability credentials. Combined with a superb economic backstory to this exceptional city, further boosted by recent support for opening-up the oil and gas fields at Jackdaw and Rosebank, the future here looks incredibly bright.”
